Praeter erratum praeter
by Ace of Black Hearts
Summary: AU!The title has changed from Mistake after mistake, but it's still the same storyA youth potion gets Riddle into more trouble than he had expected, and he ends up at Hogwarts. Shouldn't everyone get a second chance? Complete
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okey, I'm not English so I do apologies for the spelling mistakes. I tried my best. Please don't kill me, just read the story please!

Title: Praeter erratum praeter

Disclaimer: I don't owe any of the characters you may recognise from Rowling's books. (to bad really)

Warning: Some of the characters will be OOC. If you don't like it, don't read the story...

Summary: A youth potion gives Riddle more trouble than he'd expected. First the Death Eaters refuses to take orders from a 16 year-old-boy and Lucius decids to take over. Throwing Riddle out onto the steets. Then he ends up at Hogwarts. "Dosen't everyone deserve a second chance, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.

* * *

**PRAETER ERRATUM PRAETER**

(don't kill me if the translation is wrong!)

by

P-oenix

Chapter 1

A walk in Dagon Alley…

Lord Voldemort or rather Tom as he had come to think about himself as lightly, walked down the street in Diagon Alley looking around. It had been so long since he had been there, but still nothing had changed. The stores were still the same, and so were the people. It was funny really. Here he was, walking down the street in the middle of Diagon Alley, with out anybody knowing who he was. Not so funny maybe. When you took in consideration that he looked like himself when he was 16. Tom snorted. Yeah, that had surly been his biggest mistake, getting his young body back. But how the hell was he supposed to know that his Death Eaters would refuse to take orders from a 16 year old?

Lucius had been the worst. Tom remembered how he had stood up during the meeting and announced that he wasn't going to take orders from a boy, not one that was the same age as his son.

_Flashback_

_"Honestly! Are you going to take orders from a 16 year old boy?" Lucius said and turned to the Death Eaters. _

_Tom on his side was standing cross-armed behind Lucius staring angry at them. _

_"NO!" the Death Eaters said in union. _

_Lucius smiled evilly and turned to his former master._

_"It looks like I am over throwing you, my Lord!"_

_"Sure you want to do this Lucius?" Tom warned, taking out his wand._

_"Yes, Expelliarmus!" _

_The curs hit Tom in the chest and he was thrown backwards. The last thing he remembered was hitting his head against the wall, before blacking out._

_End Flashback_

Tom sighed and headed towards the Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour. He really could do with some ice cream now. And after all he deserved it, this had been a terrible day.

After he had been knocked out someone had brought him to his old orphan and left him outside the gate. There he had waked up, cold, hungry and with no clue what he was supposed to do now. After wandering around for a while he had headed for The Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley. There he had used his long time forgotten talent, that he had learned living in an orphan, and picked a couple of pockets that belonged to wizards with expensive robs, so that he could get some money.

* * *

He couldn't help sneering frustrated as he stopped outside the shop. Every table in the whole damn place was full. Irritated he ordered his favourite ice cream, chocolate ice cream with caramel sauce and walked up to a girl around his age who was occupying a whole table with books, pieces of parchment, ink and quills. 

"Do you mind me sitting here? Everywhere is full." He asked politely, taking a better look at the girl. She had bushy brown hair, kind of large front teeth, and Tom got the feeling he had seen her somewhere before.

"No, take a set. I'm sorry for the mess, I am working on my summer assignment."

"You attends to Hogwarts then?" Tom said looking at her books.

"Yes, I do. Uhm, I'm sorry. My name is Hermione Granger."

"Tom Marvolo," Tom lied. He wasn't sure if any knew who Tom Riddle was, but he recognised the girl's name. Hermione. She was one of Potters mudblood friends and a clever one after what Lucius had told him. And there was a small chance that she had heard his name somewhere and knew who he was, and Tom didn't want to make that mistake too. Then he properly would have Dumbeldore on his tail as well.

Hermione cast him a strange glance but she didn't say anything. Instead she went back to her book, and Tom started eating his ice cream. After finishing it he started staring at Hermione's book.

"Do you mind if a take a look at it?" he asked curios and nodded at one of the books that where laying on the table.

"No go ahead."

"Thanks."

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Hermione asked about a plant that she knew were in the books he was reading. Tom, not sure of what he was doing, flipped through the pages until he found the plant and started reading out loud as Hermione wrote down the information he was reading.

"Thanks." She smiled and continued writing.

Tom couldn't help but smiling too. Then reality hit him. What the hell was he doing? Sitting in an ice cream shop with a mudblood, helping her with her summer assignment. Amused over his own actions he shock his head slightly and went back to the book. Why not stay, after all, he had noting better to do.

A few more minutes passed before the door to the shop opened. It had been opened several times during the last half an hour but this time Hermione looked up, smiled and waved to whoever that had entered.

Tom, being extremely curios, turned his head and felt the entire colour disappears from his face. For who else than Potter, Weasley, and a girl he recognised as Ginny, the girl he had tricked into opening the chamber of secrets, had just walked through the door?

What the hell was he going to do now?

* * *

A/N: Pathetic right? I know. I'm Norwegian and I should never have posted this story, but hey. I just had to try. There is just to few Norwegian stories. 

But I have one, no two questions.

Should I continue this story? (Please say yes! I'm growing attached to it.) And does Hermione know that Tom Riddle and Lord Voldemort are the same person? 

So can you all please just press submit review and tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Praeter erratum praeter

Disclaimer: I don't owe any of the characters you may recognise from Rowling's books. (to bad really)

Warning: Some of the characters will be OOC, especially Tom.If you don't like it, don't read the story...

Summary: A youth potion gives Riddle more trouble than he'd expected. First the Death Eaters refuses to take orders from a 16 year-old-boy and Lucius decids to take over. Throwing Riddle out onto the steets. Then he ends up at Hogwarts. "Dosen't everyone deserve a second chance, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.

A/N: Well, I decided to but my other story on hold for a little while and focus on this one.

* * *

Vigrest: I promise to update the other one soon. 

Thanks for the review by the way. I don't mind you asking questions. To be honest I really like it. It's nice when people like what I'm writing. And I understand if you want to write you review's in Norwegian. That's okay, but I hope you don't mind that I reply in English. This is after all an English story.

Marissa: I'm glad you like it, and I hope you will continue reading this story. And I do apologise for the spelling mistakes. Please correct me if there is something wrong, I am trying my best /.

* * *

Previous chapter: 

_Tom, being extremely curios, turned his head and felt the entire colour disappear from his face. For who else than Potter, Weasley, and a girl he recognised as Ginny, the girl he had tricked into opening the chamber of secrets, had just walked through the door?_

_What the hell was he going to do now?_

* * *

Chapter 2 

_What the hell am I supposed to do now? _Tom thought as he saw Potter and his friends approaching the table. The last thing he needed was Potter to recognise him and tell the old muggleborn lover that he had got his young body back.

Thinking quick, or rather not thinking at all, he turned to Hermione and smiled.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go. I'm late for an appointment. See you around," with that he pulled up his hood and walked quickly past the teenagers and out the door. He was careful to keep his head low to avoid eye contact.

"But wait," Hermione called after him, but Tom needed to get out and pretended that he didn't hear her call.

As the door closed behind him he could her Potter ask: "Who was that?"

Well back out on the street he took a quick glance around and wondered where he should go now. He had around 4 galleons that he had stolen from the wizard and he planed to us them to rent a room at The Leaky Cauldron. He needed a place to sleep and he didn't want to sleep out on the street. The whole situation really bothered him. Why did he have to be so stupid? Now he had nowhere to sleep, almost no money at all, no wand, Lucius had taken it before he kicked him out, and no clue what to do next.

_Well, you are still alive, aren't you?_ A voice inside his head said and he nodded slightly. Yes he was still alive, and he was going to stay that way. With that in mind he headed for The Leaky Cauldron, determined to pick a couple of more pockets to get some more money.

As he came closer to The Leaky Cauldron memories started flying through his head. He remembered the first time he had been there. Dumbeldore had picked him up at the orphan and brought him there to by his school supplies.

Tom remembered the feeling of seeing hundred of wizards walking through the main street or standing around talking. It had been wonderful. Like he finally belonged somewhere. Back at the orphan he had always been the _odd_ boy, and he didn't have many friends. The other boys always loved to pick on him, and it even seemed like the owner of the orphan, Mr. Sheered hated him. At least he didn't do anything to stop the boys from tormenting him. And things only got worse when Tom got angry or sad. Then he had a strange habit of breaking things with out touching it. One time he had been so angry had made Mr. Sheered's glasses break. Causing him to trip over the doorframe and landing head first into one of the bucket that were filled with water.

Tom shook his head and tried to get rid of the memories. He never had to see Mr. Sheered again, and thank God for that.

He stepped inside the inn, deciding he had had enough memories for a while.

As always the inn was nearly filled with people and Tom had to sneak between them to reach the reception. After being pushed a couple of times, nearly stepped on and ignored more times than he liked he finally got there.

"Yes?" the man said, leaning over the disk too look at him.

"I would like to rent a room please," Tom began.

"That would be a galleon per night. How long would you like to stay?"

"I'm not sure. A couple of nights at least."

"Shall we say four night's then?"

"Yes, that would be fine."

"As you wish. That will be four galleons."

Tom searched through his pockets and gave the man four galleons.

"And I need you to sign the guest book." A huge green book was shoved towards him and he got a quill in his right hand. Shifting the quill over to his left hand he signed Tom Marvolo and handed both the book and the quill back to the man.

"I noticed you were left handed. That's not often seen among wizards."

"Yeah I know," Tom replied. He had heard the same thing 50 years ago when he first attended to school.

"Well anyway, here's your key. Room 32. Just up the stairs and the fifth room on your left. Do you have any luggage?"

"No, I don't. Thank you."

"Your welcome."

Tom turned and walked out. Placing the key in his pocket. At the moment he needed money. He had used the remnants of the stolen money to pay for the room, and of he wanted any food he needed more money.

30 minutes later he had 20 galleons in his pocket. He had picked three pockets. One was an old lady with more diamantes in her hair than Tom could count. He had used the same old trick, and _accidentally _bumped into her. While helping her up he removed her purse, which contained 7 galleons.

His next two victims had been old men and both looked like they had more than enough money, and Tom was sure they wouldn't miss the money. But sadly their purse had only contained 5 and 8 galleons.

Since he didn't have a purse he had decided to keep the one belonging to the lady. He had put all the money in it, and the other two he threw in the garbage.

Satisfied he started walking back to the inn.

Right in front of him a rather large man, with grey and black hair, and expensive brown robs was walking slowly. Tom smirked to himself. This one looked like he had more money than the queen herself. If Tom was lucky then he might didn't have to steal anything for the next couple of days.

He walked a bit faster and bumped into the man, trying to make it look like an accident.

"Oh, I'm terrible sorry!" he exclaimed and helped the man back on his feet. While the man brushed the dust of his robs, Tom carefully removed the purse from the man's pocked and slipped it into his own.

"Look where you're going boy," the man growled. His grey eyes showed that he was annoyed and angry at being pushed.

"I'm so terrible sorry sir. Please forgive me. I'm in a hurry you see. I-I have to meet my sister in Flourish & Blotts," Tom babbled and started to back away from the man. Now he only had to get away before the man noticed that he had been robbed.

"Then why are you running in the wrong direction?" the man suddenly asked.

"Wh-what?" Tom stopped. Not sure what to do now.

"I asked why you are running in the wrong direction. Flourish & Blotts are that way," he pointed in the direction, which Tom had come from.

"I-I, mhm, you see-" Tom cut himself of. He had no explanation to give the man. Instead he turned and started running. After all the man didn't look like the sort that used to go jogging every morning.

Even if the man looked like he had been eating candy and other unhealthy food products his whole live, he still was a pretty good runner. In matter of no time he had caught up with Tom and grabbed him by his arm. He turned him around and looked straight into the boys green eyes.

"You are a thief aren't you?" he asked shaking Tom slightly.

"No!" Tom said and tried to get loose.

"Yes you are. Give me my purse!"

"I don't have your bloody purse!" Tom spat out. Starting to get both angry and scared.

"Oh no?" The man grabbed both Tom's wrists with one hand and used the other to search true the boy's pockets. In one of them he found two purses and the key to Tom's room. He pulled them out and held them in front of Tom's eyes.

"And what, may I ask, is this then?"

Tom only stared at the two small bags and cursed himself for keeping the first one. But he needed something to have the money in. The only problem remaining was the fact that the lady's name was standing inside the purse.

"I thought so," the man was now smirking. He opened both purses and looked at the names inside.

"What's your name boy?" he asked after putting his own purse back into his pocket.

Tom knew he had looked at the name in the other purse, and since he had no idea what so ever about who owned the purse he just used the name he had given Hermione.

"Tom Marvolo."

"That's not what the name in the purse says." Now the man seemed amused and Tom threw him a dark glance.

"So, let me guess. You have stolen that too. Right? And several more judging from the amount of money in it."

Tom didn't answer instead it tried to twist his hands loose. Hell, why did he have to come up with that story about meeting his sister? He could have gotten away, hadn't it been for that.

"Answer me!" The man put away the stolen purse and grabbed Tom around his jaw, forcing Tom to look him straight into his eyes.

"Yes!" Tom sneered, "I stole the purses. Happy?"

The man smiled and nodded.

"Just one last question. Why?"

"I needed the money! Why the hell do you think I stole it?" Tom was almost screaming now. He wanted away from the man. Desperate he started twisting and kicking, trying to get away. But the man only smiled and grabbed a handful of Tom's jet-black hair. He pulled Tom's head backwards until Tom stopped kicking and twisting and stood still.

"Let me go!" he growled.

The old man let go of his hair but he still had a tight grip around his wrists and it didn't seem like he had plans about letting Tom go.

"Let me go!" Tom said again, "you've got your purse! Now let me go!"

"Oh no my boy I don't think so. I think you need to learn a lesson." He smiled, but it was everything else than a friendly smile.

Tom stared at him and shuddered. Even if he didn't want to admit it to himself he was starting to get scared. The man had obviously no intention of letting him go any time soon. He briefly wondered what the man had in stored for him.

* * *

A/N: So what do you think should happen to Tom. I already have the next chapter nearly finished, but I would like to know what you guys would like to happen. 

Well, that was the second chapter. Should I still go on? I want to, but it's all up to you, the readers. Please review and tell me.

P-oenix


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Praeter erratum praeter

Disclaimer: I don't owe any of the characters you may recognise from Rowling's books. (to bad really)

Warning: Some of the characters will be OOC, especially Tom.If you don't like it, don't read the story...

Summary: A youth potion gives Riddle more trouble than he'd expected. First the Death Eaters refuses to take orders from a 16 year-old-boy and Lucius decids to take over. Throwing Riddle out onto the steets. Then he ends up at Hogwarts. "Dosen't everyone deserve a second chance, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.

A/N: It's nice to get reviews from people saying that they like the story. That is what's driving me to write.

* * *

Padfootgrim: Thanks for the review. You're right. Tom is the absolute coolest guy. As for the left handed thing. I think I have read somewhere that Tom is left handed, but I'm not sure. Nice to now that I'm not the only one who writes that he is left handed, and what a coincidence that you are writing about Tom Riddle too. I checked out your story and it's really good. I hope you will continue it, and I hope you will continue reading this story. 

Vigrest: Nice to now you like it so far. I hope you will continuing reading it in the future.

* * *

Previous chapter: 

_"Oh no my boy I don't think so. I think you need to learn a lesson." He smiled, but it was everything else than a friendly smile. _

Tom stared at him and shuddered. Even if he didn't want to admit it to himself he was starting to get scared. The man had obviously no intention of letting him go any time soon. He briefly wondered what the man had in stored for him.

* * *

Chapter 3 

"I just stole your purse for crying out loud! Is not as if it was something serious in it! Why can't you just let me go?"

"And I guess you will give me your word that you want go and steal from anyone else?"

"Yes, you have my word!" There was not a chance in hell that he would keep his word, but if it could get him out of this mess.

"Mhm, I see. Well, I am sorry but I don't believe you."

Tom was to seconds from screaming out loud. If just had had his wand. Then he would have hexed the damn man into oblivion.

"Why not?" a desperate tone had found its way into Tom's voice.

"Because you are a liar and a thief."

"Yeah, and I guess people who never steal or do anything illegal don't lie then? What are you living in man? A fairy tale?" Tom couldn't help himself. The man was more stupid than a cow.

The man stared at him with a look in his eyes that Tom didn't like. Suddenly he raised his hand and slapped Tom, once, open-handed across his face.

Tom bit his tough in pain but said nothing. If he said something than the man would most likely hit him _again_.

"You should get some better manners boy!" the man barked at him. The amusement had vanished from his face now.

"Oh just shut up!" Tom muttered under his breath. Hoping the man couldn't hear him.

"My dear Francis. What on earth do you have here?" a new voice interrupted from behind the man, who's name obviously was Francis.

Tom looked over Francis's shoulder, as Francis turned to the new man, and felt the colour in his face disappear. Who else than Lucius Malfoy was standing behind Francis, with a huge grin on his face?

_Oh, you go to be kidding, _Tom thought. It seemed like the Gods really _really _hated him for some reason. Why else would the last man on earth that Tom wanted to meet show up at the worst time possible?

"Ah, Lucius," Francis smiled, "it's been a long time."

"Yes indeed. We must have lunch sometime. But what do you have here?" he took a better look at Tom and smiled as he recognised his former master.

"Just an unimportant thief. He stole my purse and I caught him red handed."

"A thief you say?" Lucius grin grew, if possible, even wider, and Tom could feel his anger grow inside him. Why the hell hadn't he killed Lucius a long time ago?

"Yes. And I think he has been doing for a time. He seemed to know what he was doing. And he had a purse that belong to a lady, with 20 galleons in it."

"I see. You're properly right. Dose he have a name?"

"Yes, Tom Marvolo I think it was. Is that right boy?" Francis looked harshly at the boy.

"Yes," Tom answer through clenched teeth.

"And what are you planning to do with him?" Lucius looked Tom straight in the eyes as he asked Francis the question Tom had been wondering about for the last half an hour.

"Well I think a couple of days in Azkaban should convince him to get a job. Don't you?"

"I think that would be perfect. Just the lesson he needs. Or what do you think _Tom_?" Lucius asked Tom who just sneered at him.

How dared the stupid fool to treat him like this!

"Did he have anything else on him?" Lucius ignored Tom's hateful look and turned his attention to Francis.

"Yes, actually he did. He had a key." Francis started searching through his pockets and Tom saw an opportunity. He kicked the older wizards as hard as he could, and, as he hoped, Francis let go of his wrists as he felt the pain in his leg. Tom turned and ran as fast as he could away from the men. Behind him he could hear them scream, but he just ran faster.

* * *

He didn't stop until he ran down a dark ally that was a dead end. Then he finally stopped. Breathing heavily as he slide down then wall until he was sitting in the dark corner. 

Tom remained there for nearly and hour. Trying to catch his breath. What was he going to do now? The stupid imbecile had stolen his key so he couldn't go back to his room at the inn. Not to mention the fact that Lucius now knew where he was staying, and if he knew the moron right then Lucius properly would come after him. Trying to make his life even more miserable.

He sighed and got back on his feet. It was getting dark now and he needed to find a place to sleep. As he started walking slowly towards the main street four black figures suddenly appeared before him.

A brief moment he thought it was Death Eaters and his heart started beating a bit faster. But as the moonlight landed on them he realised that it was kids on his own age. Dressed in rags, filthy and with hair that stood out in every direction. The tallest one, he looked to be at Tom's height, with dirty brown hair and a look that could kill, took a step towards Tom and spoke.

"So you are the new thief in town." The voice was calm but full of hate.

"So what if I am?" Tom crossed his arm and looked at the four boys. He was getting the feeling that they didn't want him there.

"This is our place. We don't want any new kid coming here taking what is ours." The boy on the leader's right, for Tom guessed the boy that had spoken first was the leader, said.

"There is more than enough people her for all of us. Or haven't you noticed?" he waited a few seconds before continuing. "I guess you haven't then. Funny really, I always thought you needed a brain to pick someone's pockets. But then again I guess I am wrong," Tom smiled evilly as he saw the boy tens up.

"You'll pay for that one!" he leader sneered, "there is only one gang of thieves here, and that is us! Get him!"

The four boys ran towards him and Tom realised he had made a terrible mistake.

* * *

Hermione walked fast through Diagon Alley. She hated working late. Now she only had to get to The Lucky Cauldron so she could us the Floo-network to get home. She was really grateful to Dumbeldore for convincing the ministry to hook her house up to the Floo-network for the summer. 

She had been trilled when she got the job at Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour at the end of the semester. Well, until she saw the working list. She was going to work late several nights and there was no way in hell that her parents would let her walk through London at midnight. So she had talked to Dumbeldore and he had asked the Ministry to hook her house to the Floo-network for the summer. How he did she had no idea about, but she was really thankful.

Hermione shuddered. She loved being in Diagon Alley, but walking through it at the middle of the night was not very pleasant. An owl howled and she nearly jumped out of her skin. As she calmed down her eyes suddenly caught the sight of a dark figure lying lifeless in the road. Kneeling down by the figure's side Hermione realised that it was the young boy she had meet in the ice-cream store earlier that day. Tom something, wasn't it?

She quickly checked his pulse and was relived to find it beating steadily. The boy didn't seem to have any fatal wounds, only some bruises and a couple of broken ribs. Thinking quickly she pulled out her wand and levitated the boy before hurrying towards The Lucky Cauldron. She knew she wasn't supposed to use magic out side school, but this was an emergency. She would have to deal with the consequences afterwards. Right now she needed to get the boy to a hospital.

* * *

A/N: Poor Tom. I almost feel sorry for him. _Almost_. But it was necessary to hurt him. Well, anyway. I promise he will be all right. So what do you think so far? Are the chapter long enough, and is it possible to read my English, or is there way to many spelling and grammar mistakes? I try to remove most of them. I think I read through every chapter at least three times before posting them. Just to get ride of most of the mistakes. Just as you know. Well, I don't think there would bee to long before chapter 4 is up, so in the mean time let me now what you think so fare. 

P-oenix


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Praeter erratum praeter

Disclaimer:I don't owe any of the characters you may recognise from Rowling's books. (to bad really)

Warning: Some of the characters will be OOC, especially Tom. If you don't like it, don't read the story...

Summary: A youth potion gives Riddle more trouble than he'd expected. First the Death Eaters refuses to take orders from a 16 year-old-boy and Lucius decids to take over. Throwing Riddle out onto the streets. Then he ends up at Hogwarts. "Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.

A/N: Well with out further delays, here is chapter four.

* * *

Vigrest: Yeah, you're properly right. It should be "you gotta be kidding, but I was in kind o a rush when I wrote that chapter. I'll be more careful in the future, promise! Thanks for telling me by the way; I don't mind people correcting me.

* * *

Previouse chapter:

She quickly checked his pulse and was relived to find it beating steadily. The boy didn't seem to have any fatal wounds, only some bruises and a couple of broken ribs. Thinking quickly she pulled out her wand and levitated the boy before hurrying towards The Lucky Cauldron. She knew she wasn't supposed to use magic out side school, but this was an emergency. She would have to deal with the consequences afterwards. Right now she needed to get the boy to a hospital.

* * *

Chapter 4

_"Honestly! Are you going to take orders from a 16 year old boy?" Lucius said and turned to the Death Eaters. _

_Tom on his side was standing cross-armed behind Lucius staring angry at them. _

_"NO!" the Death Eaters said in union. _

_Lucius smiled evilly and turned to his former master._

_"It looks like I'm over throwing you, my Lord!"_

Tom groaned and turned in his sleep as a nurse with short blond hair made her way towards his bed.

The sound of someone opening the door made her turn around to see whom it was. Her face broke into a smile as she saw a man with long white hair and beard, standing in the doorframe.

"Ah, Headmaster. What are you doing here?"

Dumbeldore walked into the nursery room and after a quick glance towards the sleeping boy, he gave the nurse a warm smile before explaining his visit.

"One of the healers told me that a student of mine, Hermione Granger, had brought you a boy, who was fairly beaten up. He asked me to check in and see if I recognised him, since they have no idea of who he is."

"Yes that's right." The nurse nodded, "She came running into our office late last night, levitating a boy who seemed to have been in a huge fight. We fixed him up. Luckily their was nothing serious, only a couple of broken ribs and some bruises, but it looks like he have taken quite a blow to the head, because he haven't woken up yet."

"Sadly. Can I see him?" the Headmaster moved closer to the bed and looked down at the sleeping boy. Jet-black hair fell down into his handsome face, because the boy was quite a sight, he seemed tall and his mouth was, even in his sleep, twisted into a classic Slytherin sneer. Dumbeldore looked at the boy's closed eyes and he knew all too well that if they opened he would stare into a couple of green eyes, which would most likely hold a glimt of anger and passion for power. Just as they had done 50 years ago when Tom Riddle first attended to Hogwarts, because the old Headmaster had no doubt that the boy before him was the young Tom Marvolo Riddle, who he had taught so many years ago.

The nurse studied Dumbeldore's reaction as he looked at the boy, but the only thing she could see was a slight hint of surprise.

"Do you know him?" she inquired.

"Yes…I know who he is, but I think it would be wise if we pretended not to."

"Why is that Albus?"

"This boy is one of the most powerful wizards in the world. I taught him 50 years ago so yes you can say I know him, and I also know that he is quite unstable when he gets upset or angry. The best thing would be to let him believe that we have no clue about his identity, and wait until he is fully recovered before we do anything. If not I'm afraid he would run away first chance he gets."

"50 — 50 years?!" the nurse stuttered, "But Headmaster this boy is hardly any older than 16. How can he have been a student of yours 50 years ago?"

"I don't know the answer to that," the Headmaster admitted, "but I'm certain that this is the same boy. We just have to wait until he has recovered."

"I see," the nurse said, not knowing what to believe, "And what, may I ask, make you certain, that he want run away, even if we don't tell him that we know who he is?

"I'm not certain about it at all. We'll just have to come up with some precautions."

They both went quiet and looked down at the boy. The nurse was wondering about who the boy was, who, according to Dumbeldore was one of the most powerful wizards in the world. Dumbeldore on the other hand was wondering about how the powerful Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort, suddenly looked like his young self again.

Tom on his side was in deep sleep, unaware of the conversation between the nurse and his old transfiguration teacher.

* * *

Tom felt like he was swimming in a dark sea. He swam up but he never seemed to be able to reach the surface. Then suddenly a light appeared in front of him and he closed his eyes to avoid it. When he tried to open them again he looked right into a couple of dark brown eyes, surrounded by blond hair.

"Hey sweetie. Welcome back to the living." Her voice was kind and gentle and Tom frowned. Where was he?

The nurse disappeared out of his sight for a few seconds, before returning with a syringe in her hand.

Tom jumped backwards, hitting his head against the bedpost. He hated needles. Back at the orphan they had been vaccinated every single years, against every damn disease that they could some up with. And the nurse hadn't been to gentle. She hated the vaccinating almost as much as the orphans. So she wanted to get the whole thing over as quick as possible.

One year they were getting a vaccine, against German measles (A/N: Is that the right word?) and the nurse had problems finding a blood vein on Tom's arm. After trying four times she suddenly lost her patience and shoved the needle into Tom's arm with such force that Tom scream out loud. Luckily for Tom the nurse hit a vein this time and he was free to go. Tom had been terrified of needles after that incident, and now the bloody nurse, who was standing before him wanted to shove another needle into his arm. That was not going to happen.

To the nurse's surprise, her patient suddenly jumped out of bed and ran towards the door.

Tom ran towards the door, wanting to get out of wherever he was, but before he could open the door someone else did and he ran straight into a man, knocking them both of their feet.

He shook his head slightly, moaning because his ribs felt like they were on fire. The person he had run into got to his feet and bent down. Helping Tom to stand. Tom muttered a 'thank you', rubbing his left side.

"That's quite all right, dear boy," the man said, smiling down at him.

Tom stiffed. The voice sent an ice wind down his spine and he hesitated before looking up. Green frightened eyes meet blue, and the orphan felt the world spinning around him before he feel into the warm dark sea.

* * *

A/N: Well, there is nothing more to say than read and review. And for the German measles, is there such a thing? According to the dictionary there is, but I'm nit sure. So if it's wrong blame the dictionary and not me.

P-oenix


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Praeter erratum praeter

Disclaimer:I don't owe any of the characters you may recognise from Rowling's books. (to bad really)

Warning: Some of the characters will be OOC, especially Tom. If you don't like it, don't read the story...

Summary: A youth potion gives Riddle more trouble than he'd expected. First the Death Eaters refuses to take orders from a 16 year-old-boy and Lucius decids to take over. Throwing Riddle out onto the streets. Then he ends up at Hogwarts. "Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.

A/N: Well, not much to say. Here is the fifth chapter.

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Kittybro: I'm glad you like it. Hope you will continueing reading and reviewing the story.

Vigrest: No Lucius let Tom go. He knew Tom was no treath to him. And for the other question, well, you just have to wait and see.

Padfootgrim: Thanks, and I will continue the story. I have allready writen the last chapter, so I know how it's going to end.

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Previouse chapter:

_"That's quite all right, dear boy," the man said, smiling down at him. _

_Tom stiffed. The voice sent an ice wind down his spine and he hesitated before looking up. Green frightened eyes meet blue, and the orphan felt the world spinning around him before he feel into the warm dark sea._

* * *

Chapter 5

Voices, low strange voices were the first thing Tom heard when he started to wake up everal houres later.

He remained still with his eyes closed and tried to listen to what the voices were saying.

"…Tom something. I'm not sure. He told me his full name but I can't remember what it was." A girl said, and Tom realised that it was Potters mudblood friend Hermione. What was she doing here?

"And did you see anyone in the area which you found him?" a second voice asked, one the Tom knew belonged to Albus Dumbledore.

"No. It was dark and I got scared when I saw him lying there so helpless and beaten up. Professor, is he going to be all right?"

"Yes, he'll be fine. Just give him a couple of days. You look starved. I'll get us something to eat. Would go look after him while I'm gone?"

"Of course Professor."

Tom could hear a door slame shut and he assumed that Dumbledore had left the room. Slowly he opened his eyes and stared right into a couple of brown ones that held a concerned look.

"Oh, good, you're awake." Hermione smiled and handed him a glass of water, which Tom gratefully excepted.

"How you feeling?"

"Like a football after a long match. Pretty beaten up."

"You know about football?" 

Tom silently cursed himself for beeing so stupid. How could he forget that most wizards and witches didn't know about football and other muggle sports.

"Yeah, I'm a half-blood," he explained. _Well, at least that's true_, he thought looking down in the now empty glass.

"Oh, right. I'm, muggleborn so I know mostly everything about muggles, since I have lived with them for half my life."

There was a couple of silent miniuts before Tom said.

"So, I guess a owe you a thanks. I mean after all you properly saved my life."

"Were you listning to the conversation before?" she asked suspiciously.

Tom gave her a sceptical grin not sure if it was a good thing or bad thing to get caught listning to their converdsation, but then again, he had been in the room, and they knew it, so maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

"Well, I would gave done it for anyone. But you were lucky that you weren't hurt any worse."

"Yeah, thanks again."

"Ah, you're awake." Dumbledore appeared in the door with a huge tray in his arms.

Tom looked at the old man and felt a twing of fear. Surly Dumbledore would remember him, and skip him of to Azkaban or something. There was now way that he could have forgotten him.

"I wasn'st sure if you had woken up yet, so I brought food for you to. Are you hungry?"

Tom started to shake his head, but stopped and nodded. He was hungry, and he wasn't sure when he last had had a decent meal. It had to be at least a couple of days.

Dumbledore placed the tray on the dresser beside Tom's bed and handed each og them a plate filled with every thing you could think of, from chicken to potatoes.

Tom started eating with a great appetite and had soon emptyed his plate.

Dumbledore hadn't eaten anything and when he noticed that Tom was finsihed he placed the empty plate on the tray and looked Tom straight in the eyes, which made Tom turn away.

Hermione said good bye and left them before Dumbledore opened his mouth and started speaking.

"I guess a presentation would be in place young man. I'm Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry (spell?), and you're?"

"Tom Marvolo," Tom muttered and expected the headmaster to reconise him. But the old man apperead to never have heard the name and Tom couldn't help, but sighing in relife.

"And may I ask how old are you, Mr. Marvolo?"

Tom's eyes flashed confused. _Why did he want to know how old he was?_

"17, why?"

"I was just wondering. And since you're a wizard, I'm right am I?"

Tom nodded, not seeing what the old man was talking about.

"What school did you attend to?"

Tom swallowed and thought hard. "Durmstrange," he finally answered.

"Ah, I see, and where are you're parents?"

_What are this? Tird degree interagation? Why do he have to knew every bloody thing aboout me? Well, I guess I should tell him the truth._¨

"Their dead."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but who are you leagal guardian then?"

"Eh…my aunt. But she's on vaction to egypt, so I was supposed to take care of myself for the summer." That was pure lie, but Tom didn't care.

"To bad, I would like to inform her about your condision. Could I get her name please?"

"NO!" Tom nearly shouted, "I…I mean," he started bitting his lower lip, "I don't want to disturb her on her vacation. And I'm after all all right, so can't we just forget about that?"

"Well, I guess we could let it be, after all you are all right."

"Thanks," Tom forced a smile, "You see she really deserved this vacation, and I would hate to destroy it for her."

"That's quite understandeble dear boy," Dumbledore returned his smile, and his eyes where gloving with something that Tom couldn't quite deside what was. It was as if he knew something Tom didn't knew that he knew.

"Then. Can you please tell me what or who that beat you up?"

Tom groaned silently. That was the last thing he wanted to do. But before he was able to say anything the door swung up and a healer entered. Taking one look at Tom before stopping dead in his tracks.

"Francis, how are you?" greated Dumbledore, and Tom felt like someone had just slapped him.

"The thief!" Francis muttered and walked towards the bed, while Tom considered standing up and jumping out of a window.

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A/N: Well, until next time…….. 


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Praeter erratum praeter

Disclaimer:I don't owe any of the characters you may recognise from Rowling's books. (to bad really)

Warning: Some of the characters will be OOC, especially Tom. If you don't like it, don't read the story...

Summary: A youth potion gives Riddle more trouble than he'd expected. First the Death Eaters refuses to take orders from a 16 year-old-boy and Lucius decids to take over. Throwing Riddle out onto the streets. Then he ends up at Hogwarts. "Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.

A/N: Okey, I know I said I wouldn't update until I found a Beta-reader. But that seems to take a bit more time than I thought. I have sent some e-mails to a couple people but none of them as answered yet. Well, anyway. I couldn't help it, and I just had to post one more chapter. Just to get things going. But I have to warn you. This isn't one of my best chapters. To be honest it most likely sucks. But I'll leave it to you guys to decide that, and once again, sorry for the mistakes. I know I should have waited until I found a Beta, but well, you know how it is…. (**grins sceptically)**. Sorry.

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Kirei-Shinobu: Thanks. I try to us the spell check as much as possible but sometimes it's not enough.

Padfootgrim: Thanks for the tip.

Vigrest: Yeah, I noticed some too when I read through it after I had read your review. And I promise I'll continue this story. It's become sort of a baby to me.

Dragoness Kaei: Thanks for your review. I've sent you an e-mail and I hope you've got it, if not please let me now. My e-mail is

Carya: Thanks. The same thing goes for you. I sent you a e-mail to. And I hope you've got it. If not please let me now. And thanks for your nice words. (**Grins to herself)** It's nice to hear that you think my story had potential.

Niger Aquila: Thanks. Hope you'll continue reading.

The Honest Liar: Thanks.

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Previous chapter:

_"Francis, how are you?" greeted Dumbledore, and Tom felt like someone had just slapped him. _

"The thief!" Francis muttered and walked towards the bed, while Tom considered standing up and running.

* * *

Chapter 6

"Thief?" Dumbledore looked puzzled for once and looked from Francis to Tom and back.

Tom on his side, would gladly have given his right hand, just to be able to murder Francis with his glare.

"That boy stole my purse earlier, and I caught him red handed!" Francis sneered, starting to advance on Tom, who had got an expression of pure fear upon his face.

He knew he was in deep trouble this time, real deep, and for the first time he couldn't see any way out of it. The only thing he could do was to lay still and hope for the best.

"Well Tom?" Dumbledore inquired.

"Eh…well, you see…" Tom muttered. Not sure what to tell the Headmaster.

_Maybe the truth for once?_ A voice asked inside his head.

_Yeah, right. I'm so sorry Dumbledore, but I lied to you. I'm really Tom Riddle, you remember me right? I used to be Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord, but then I decided to get my younger body back and Lucius decided that he wouldn't take orders from a 17-year-old boy, and kicked me out. So if I wanted food and shelter, I had to get some money and since I couldn't get a job I stole what I needed, but then Francis here caught me. _

Tom almost started smirking. It would have been funny to see Dumbledore's face. Well, at least for a while, before the old fool would skip him of to Azkaban.

"Let me make it easy for you," Dumbledore said and the usually twinkles had left his blue eyes. "Did you or did you not steal his money?"

"Well, I did, but I had to. It was the only way I could survive!" Tom faked a desperate tone and looked pleading at Dumbledore.

_The poor orphan act always works_, Tom thought and mentally he smiled.

"You had to?" Francis raised an eyebrow, sceptical. His opinion was that if you were a thief, you also were a liar. And this boy was surly both.

"Yeah. It was either that or I would have starved to death. And quite frankly I'm rather fond of living."

"And that story about your aunt?" Dumbledore asked.

Tom smiled a wry smile before answering.

"I lied, sorry."

"Ha, I knew it!" Francis exclaimed, and Tom scowled darkly at him. Why couldn't he just drop dead? Was that too much to ask for?

Dumbledore sent Francis a warning look before returning his gaze towards Tom. "Do you care to share the truth with us?"

"Do I have a choice?" Tom asked with a small smile.

"NO!" Francis nearly screamed. His anger was starting to boil and he wanted more than anything to twist the teen's neck until he told the truth.

"Okey, okey. Take it easy. I'm an orphan, and I ran away from the orphan home and ended up in Diagon Alley."

_Well, that's at least part truth._

Dumbledore smiled one of his I-Know-Something-You-Don't smiles, which Tom hated more than anything. Francis on the other hand didn't look like he believed a word of what Tom just had told them.

"And we are supposed to believe that?" he asked.

"Well, yes. It's the truth."

"You're nothing by a filthy, lying little worm," Francis sneered as he bend forward and seized Tom around his throat, "Now tell me the truth!"

Tom's eyes widened in fear as his air supply was cut of, and he tried his best to shove the healer's hands away. After a few seconds black spots was starting to appear behind his eyelids and he felt like he was on the edge of passing out again.

"Le-let me go," Tom stuttered, twisting and fighting to get away.

"Francis! Let go of him," came Dumbledore's stern voice, and Francis gave Tom one last glare before loosening his grip.

"G-go to he-hell!" Tom muttered, gasping for air. He stared up at the healer who stared back down with a complacent smirk. _The imbecile is enjoying himself_! Tom thought angry and started to massage his throat carefully. This man was surly dangerous. He had to watch out for him in the future. Well, unless he was sent to Azkaban, then he would have nothing more to worry about.

"Leave us, please." Dumbledore said, and glared at Francis with an angry look on his face.

"Are you sure? I could always twist the truth out of him you know?" Francis asked smoothly.

Tom cast him a dark glare. The man was obvious just looking for an excuse to beat the hell out of him. Thank God that Dumbledore was there, or else he would have needed an undertaker instead of a healer.

"Yes, thank you. And you know that I don't approve of violence."

"As you wish." Francis gave Tom a smile before he left them and closed the door behind him.

"That guy should be looked up somewhere," Tom sneered and pulled the blankets better around him.

"Maybe." Was the only answer he got.

"For heaven sake! He attacked me!" Tom exclaimed.

"Well, your were provoking him," Dumbledore pointed out and a shadow of a smile started creping over his face.

"Yeah sure. The man is mad," Tom mumbled staring at the floor.

"So," he started, "What's going to happen to me now?"

"Well, you told me that you're seventeen. So I was wondering if you wanted to finish you last year of school at Hogwarts. The school is starting in around a week. September 1st, and if you want you can return to with me by the end of the week. As you properly know they closed Durmstrange after last semester. And since Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters burned the place down afterwards, I'm afraid your school records my have been lost, so we will have to manage with out them. "

_Yeah, how sad_. Tom knew that the school had been burned down early in the summer. After all he had given the order to do so.

The Ministry had discovered that Durmstrange was used to train up new Death Eaters, and they closed the school after the last semester. Most of the pupils had been transformed to other schools, like Hogwarts and Beauxbatons. Tom had been furious and ordered the school burned down, to show the Ministry not to mess with him. He had considered burning the school down when the pupils were still there, but then again. Many of his Death Eaters had children that attended to the school, so that would have been a foolish thing to do. He didn't want to risk a rebellion.

"Do I have to come with you to Hogwarts?" He would gladly take his chances on the street rather than coming with the old fool to Hogwarts.

"I'm nothing going to force you, but it's either that or I'll contact the Ministry and get you send back to the orphan."

_I never thought he was the blackmailing type_, Tom thought surprised. So then he didn't have a choice. He couldn't risk being sent back to a non-exiting orphan.

"Well?"

"I'll go with you to Hogwarts," he finally muttered and Dumbledore smiled.

"Good. I will leave you for a while. Get some rest, and I will give the nurse order to bring you some food when you wake up."

Tom let himself fall back down on the bed and sighed. Great. Now he was going to Hogwarts. The last place on earth that he wanted to be, well except from back at the headquarter with Lucius.

He could always get up and try to escape, but with his damage and broken ribs, that would properly be suicide. Especially if he was to run into that gang of thieves once more. He knew that he wouldn't survive another fight with that gang.

Maybe Hogwarts wouldn't be that bad. At least he would get a wand, and he had always liked school.

Honestly, whom was he kidding? What if they found out who he was? If Dumbledore didn't send him to Azkaban then Potter would surely kill him. And what about that other girl? Ginny wasn't it? She had met his younger self in The Chamber of Secrets. Lucius had told him the story after Wormtail had brought him back. Surly she would recognize him.

Tom yawned. All the thinking had worn him out, and he desperately needed some sleep. Ignoring the pain in his ribs he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Trying not worry think about the future.

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Three days later they were on their way to Hogwarts, travelling by horse carriage, because Dumbledore and the healers had forbidden him to use the Floo-network. They said it could blow up his rib damage. Not that Tom really cared.

He was sitting in a corner of the carriage, looking out the window. Beside him, the only other passenger was Dumbledore, who was currently occupied with a book about Ancient Charms.

"How long?" Tom asked. He was starting to get restless and he wanted to get out of the carriage.

"About an hour," Dumbledore answered with out looking up from the book.

Tom sighed. Great, another boring hour. Well, it was better than the speech Dumbledore had held earlier. He had talked for an hour about Hogwarts, the four houses, the founders, the sorting, classes, and so on. Tom really had to struggle too stay awake. He already knew all that, but according to his story he didn't so he had to keep up the act of the poor orphan boy.

The landscape outside the carriage got pretty boring after a while and he decided to get some sleep. After all he had nothing better to do.

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A/N: And, now back to the Beta searching.

P-oenix


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Praeter erratum praeter

Disclaimer:I don't owe any of the characters you may recognise from Rowling's books. (to bad really)

Beta: Kalathetrumpeter

Warning: Some of the characters will be OOC, especially Tom. If you don't like it, don't read the story...

Summary: A youth potion gives Riddle more trouble than he'd expected. First the Death Eaters refuses to take orders from a 16 year-old-boy and Lucius decids to take over. Throwing Riddle out onto the streets. Then he ends up at Hogwarts. "Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.

A/N: Hey everyone. Sorry for the delay. Well, I finally found a Beta-reader. Or actually, I found two, but one of them seems to have disappeared. Anyway, here's the 7th chapter.

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Kittybro: Sorry for the delay, but here's the next chapter . 

Vigrest: Well, Dumbledore wanted Tom to come to Hogwarts so that he could keep an eye on him.

Emikae: Thanks, hope you'll continue reading this.

Padfootgrim: I'm glad you asked, because to be honest, I hadn't thought about it. But, I won't answer the question. You'll find out eventually.

Kirei-Shinobu: Thanks for letting me know . I didn't notice that the word was miss spelled. But now I have a Beta-reader, so hopefully there want be to many mistakes, or hopefully there want be any at all.

Carya: Okay, first of all I'm so sorry you haven't heard from me! You see I tried to send you a mail on your old address, because the part after carya78 was missing, and I wasn't sure if it was , or something else. So, I'm so sorry!!!! Please don't be mad at me. I hate when people is mad at me.

Artemis1000: Thanks for the review. I felt pretty evil making Tom get kicked out by his own followers, but the idea was quite funny ! As for the questions, I won't answer them. Sorry. You'll just have to read and see.

DarkRoseBlood: hey, thanks for your review. I wasn't offended by it. And I do see your point. And I'm sure many here agrees with you, it's just that I'm a bit tired of stories where Tom goes around killing everything that moves. And just is evil and full of hate. I wanted to give him feelings, other than hate. But I do hope you will continue reading.

miss8: Thanks. I'll try to make him nicer . As for the end. I have already written the last chapter to be honest. So I hope I'll get the chance to post it.

Wanamaker: Thanks for the compliment. I do try my best, and now I got a Beta-reader so hopefully things will only get better from now on .

_

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"About an hour," Dumbledore answered with out looking up from the book. _

_Tom sighed. Great, another boring hour. Well, it was better than the speech Dumbledore had held earlier. He had talked for an hour about Hogwarts, the four houses, the founders, the sorting, classes, and so on. Tom really had to struggle too stay awake. He already knew all that, but according to his story he didn't so he had to keep up the act of the poor orphan boy._

_The landscape outside the carriage got pretty boring after a while and he decided to get some sleep. After all he had nothing better to do._

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Chapter 7 

Tom couldn't help but taking a deep breath as Hogwarts rose in front of them. No matter how many times he looked at it, it never ceased to impress him.

The sunlight steaming through the clouds reflected off the water, giving the place a beautiful touch. It reminded Tom of a picture from the medieval ages, and the only thing that was missing was a couple of knights on their way to the castle.

The carriage drove up the road to Hogwarts and stopped outside the gates.

Dumbledore put away the book he was reading, and stepped out turning towards Tom.

"Are you coming, my dear boy?"

"Uhm? Yeah, I'm coming," Tom tore his gaze away from the castle and went after Dumbledore.

They entered the castle and continued up to the Headmaster's office, Tom trying to pretend that he'd never been there before. Which wasn't easy.

The portraits, statues, and rooms brought back so many memories, both good and bad at once.

_This is either going to be a nice year, or a trip to hell_, he thought as they stopped outside the gargoyle. Dumbledore said the password, "Chocolate frog".

The statue jumped out of the way, and they went up the stairs, and into the office. The portraits on the walls looked down at them, and many greeted Dumbledore cheerfully welcome.

One portrait examined Tom silently, a smile rapidly forming on its face. Tom swallowed. He had forgotten about the portraits.

The one who was starring at him at moment was Salazar Slytherin. And Tom had no doubt what so ever that Salazar would recognize his own Heir. Quickly, he placed a finger over his mouth and mimed that he would explain later.

Salazar nodded in understanding, and Tom turned his attention back to Dumbledore. Who was currently occupied with taking down an old hat from on of the shelves. Ah, the sorting hat. He had forgotten about that too.

"What's that?" he asked, playing his part.

"This is the sorting hat. Just place it on your head, and it will tell you which house you will be in."

"Okay," Tom sat down in one of the chairs and Dumbledore placed the hat on his head.

The hat immediately came to life and started speaking to him. "Ah, what a brilliant brain, such talent! Shouldn't have been wasted at Durmstrang, and I see quite a family here too. Salazar would hate me forever if I don't place his Heir in Slyth-," the hat suddenly broke off and went silent.

"What?" Tom mentally asked.

"I have already said this."

"I don't understand," Tom said, his pulse started to race high.

"Well, well, well, welcome back Mr. Riddle. Tom Marvolo Riddle, isn't it? I knew I had said the exact same things 50 years ago. So why is the Headmaster enrolling you again? Does he even _know _who you are?"

"I don't know what you're talking about! I'm Tom Marvolo."

"Well those are your first and second name, but you forgot your last one. I think the Headmaster needs to hear this."

"No!"

"He needs to know," the hat stated.

"Okay, listen to me, you filthy old thing. If you tell him, then I swear I'll cut you into so many pieces that no magic in the world would be able to fix you! Get it?" The sneering voice was so different from the one Tom had used the last couple of days in order to fool Dumbeldore, that it frightened the hat so it nearly jumped of the top of his head.

"Calm down, Mr. Riddle, you'll get your wish. I won't tell, but he'll find out eventually."

Tom sneered, "We'll see about that."

"Then your house will be…GRYFFINDOR!" The last part it shouted out loud, and Tom bit his tongue not to scream. GRYFFINDOR, for crying out loud! The last house in the world he wanted to be in. Imagine, the Heir of Slytherin in Gryffindor.

He turned and looked up at Salazar, who seemed to be two inches from laughing out loud.

"Well, Gryffindor. You'll be welcome there. And that's where Hermione is. At least you know someone there already."

"Sounds nice," Tom lied, forcing himself to smile at the old fool. _Oh God, I hate you Lucius. I swear you'll pay for this!_ Tom had problems controlling his anger towards the traitor. It was _his_ fault that he was in this position, stranded at Hogwarts for a year, in GRYFFINDOR of all places! Lucius had caught him totally of guard at the last meeting. Normally he would have been an easy match for Tom, but Tom hadn't expected Lucius to turn against him, and that was the reason why Lucius had been able to hex him.

_But I swear. The next time I see him, he's dead! _Tom swore silently, clenching his hands into fists.

Tom?" Dumbledore waved one hand in front of Tom's face. Tom jerked in surprise.

"What?"

"You seemed to have your attention elsewhere. What's on your mind?" Dumbledore seemed so genuinely interested that Tom almost blurted out the whole thing.

"No," Tom shook his head, "I was just thinking about something the Sorting Hat told me." He sent the hat a brilliant smile, and got a scowl in return.

"Ah, yes. I understand, but we should be going. I'll show you to the Gryffindor dorm, and then we'll get something to eat. Does that sound okay?"

_Oh, this is going to kill me_, Tom thought angrily, but he flashed another fake smile, "Yes, that sounds fine, well, there's only one thing."

"Yes?"

Tom looked down at the floor and bit his lip in attempt to look ashamed, "Well...uhm, I kind of lost my wand during the summer. I think someone stole it."

"So what you're saying is, you need a new one?"

"Yeah," Tom muttered. _Of course I need a new one, you moron!_ _Lucius has properly snapped mine!_

"Well, unfortunately, Ollivander has had an accident with a dragon, and he is currently in St. Mungos. But I think he'll be out in a week."

"Oh, that's to bad. I'll just have to wait, then." _Damn! Why haven't I wiped the stupid animals from the face of the earth? A week! A damn, bloody week!_

"I'll inform the teachers, but you still has to go to class and take notes."

"Oh, that's no problem," Tom smiled a fake smile.

"Well then, off we go."

They left the office, and Dumbledore led the way towards the Gryffindor common room.

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A/N: And done. Only one thing. Please don't start yelling at me, because I put Tom in Gryffindor. I did it for a reason. I just can't tell you right now. 

P-oenix


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Praeter erratum praeter

Disclaimer:I don't owe any of the characters you may recognise from Rowling's books. (to bad really)

Beta: Kalathetrumpeter

Warning: Some of the characters will be OOC, especially Tom. If you don't like it, don't read the story...

Summary: A youth potion gives Riddle more trouble than he'd expected. First the Death Eaters refuses to take orders from a 16 year-old-boy and Lucius decids to take over. Throwing Riddle out onto the streets. Then he ends up at Hogwarts. "Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.

A/N: First of all, I would like to say THANK YOU SO MUCH to by Beta-reader Kalathetrumpeter, the chapters always look so much better after she has corrected them, which makes me wonder. How in the world were you guys able to understand all that rubbish that I wrote? Anyway, it's much better now, thanks to her! **Grins and waves to her Beta**

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Second to those who reviewed: 

Wanamaker: Neither can I, because I haven't got a clue! Okay, just kidding. I know what to write in the next chapter.

Vigrest: I see your point, and I promise, Tom will meet Draco soon.

Kittybro: Please, please don't slit your throat!!! **Fall down on her knees and folds her hands** As for the couple thing, eh….uhm…just keep reading okay? And I tried to make the chapter a bit longer, but there was a schoolbook on my head that kept screaming for attention.

Emike: Thought it would make a nice twist .

DarkRoseBlood: **sighs with relief.** I thought I'd never her from you again…As for Tom threatening the Sorting Hat, hehe, well, I thought about you when I wrote that part . And yes, Dumbledore knows that Tom is Tom Riddle.

Kalathetrumpeter: Thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks. Not much else to say, I don't know what I'd do with out you. .

Carya: Thank God. I was afraid that you were mad at me. You aren't right? **looks suspiciously at the name.** Nice to hear from you by the way.

Dracodolenz: Nice to hear that you like it. Hopefully I'll hear from you again.

_

* * *

Previous chapter: __"Well then, off we go." _

_They left the office, and Dumbledore led the way towards the Gryffindor common room._

* * *

Chapter 8 

Tom woke up two days later, with a headache. He groaned and turned over in the bedWhat he really wanted to do was go back to sleep, to hell with the Sorting ceremony. It was too bad that that wasn't an option. Yawning, he got up and headed for the bathroom, grabbing a pair of black school robes on the way.

* * *

Tom desperately tried to get time to slow down as he wandered around the castle in the afternoon. He didn't want the other students to return, especially not Potter, or that Weasly girl Ginny. They both knew all too well how he looked, and since he didn't have a wand, he couldn't use a disguising spell. And every potion that could do the trick had to brew for three weeks, or more. He was left him with no other alternative than to hope that neither of the two would recognize him. 

_Damn,_ he thought, and looked down at the page that he had already read four times. He just couldn't concentrate on the book.His thoughts always seemed to drift of to Potter, and how Potter would react on seeing him. Once more he tried to show his thoughts away, so that he could concentrate on the book.

After stalking around in the castle for an hour, he had ended up in the library. After a quick look through the shelves, he'd chosen a book about charms, which he couldn't remember being there in his own school years.

"Here you are,"

The voice interrupted Tom's thoughts, and he turned around eying Dumbledore in the doorframe.

"Yeah, I just wanted to catch up on my reading." he answered.

"Well, it's time to go. The sorting starts in a few minutes."

Tom hesitated, biting his lower lip. He wasn't to keen about doing this. He wasn't actually nervous, just irritated. This was his best chance in years to get rid of Potter, and he didn't even have a wand.

"What's bothering you, dear boy?"

"Eh…nothing. Well, I'm just nervous. Let's go." He got up, and followed Dumbledore out the door and down to the great hall.

The hall was decorated in Hogwarts' colours, and with flags that wore the Hogwarts' crest on them.

The tables were filled with students, and Tom swallowed before entering the hall. He slipped down into one of the chairs by the Gryffindor table, and started studying his hands. Then, when Dumbledore started on his usual speech for the year, he closed his ears, and only pretended to be listing.

The sorting started, and after two or three of the new pupils had been called up, a girl suddenly came running into the Great hall and slipped into a seat next to Tom. He was surprised to find out that the girl was Hermione.

She looked up from the papers she had been carrying, and caught the sight of him.

"Tom," she smiled, "Great, you are a Gryffindor too."

"Yeah," Tom grinned, "Why are you late, by the way? I thought everyone wanted to see the sorting."

"I'm Head Girl this year, you know what that is?"

Tom nodded and Hermione continued.

"Well, I been in a meeting with Minerva McGonagall, she's the head of Gryffindor house."

"Okay, is that the woman that wears her hair in a bun?"Tom looked towards the teacher table, and realized that he actually didn't know all of the teachers. Many of them had started teaching after he graduated.

"Yes. Oh, there's Ron and Harry," she waved and Tom looked down the table and saw Weasly and Potter waving back.

"Friends of yours?" he asked.

"Yeah. The one with the red hair is Ron Weasly and the other one is Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter. The Boy-Who-Lived? You seem to have famous friends," Tom smiled.

"Maybe, but he's really nice. I think you would like him."

Tom gave another fake smile, "Properly."

They were interrupted when the food appeared on the table, and neither of them said anything before they had filled their plates with food.

"So, which subjects are you taking besides The Magical History and Charms?"

"Eh…Muggle Studies (He had chosen that to ease the suspicion on him. After all, who in their right state of mind would believe that the Dark Lord would take Muggle Studies?), Potions, and Transfiguration(he had chosen the two last subjects based on his own skills. He had always been good in transfiguration, and potions.)"

"Really? Those the same subjects as me, only I'm taking Arithmancy instead of Muggle Studies, and I'm also taking Care of Magical Creatures. You should be glad you aren't taking Divination. The teacher, Professor Trelawney, is a really crazy witch. She has no clue what so ever about the subject. I tried it in my third year, but I quit. There was nothing in it for me."

Tom smiled. She sounded just like him.

"So, what do you think about the school so far?"

"I love it." he lied. He actually hated the gooddamn place. And the act he was putting on for Hermione was getting a bit exhausting.

"That's nice. I can give you a tour around the castle afterwards, if you want," she smiled persuasively and Tom couldn't resist. At least then he wouldn't have to meet Potter right away.

"Yeah, that would be nice."

* * *

"Wow, it's huge," Tom smiled and looked around the library, which of course was the first thing she wanted to show him. 

"Yeah, I love it. Do you like to read?" She leaned against one of the tables and crossed her arms.

Tom turned and flashed her a brilliant _fake_ smile, "Yes. Well, the library back at Durmstrang wasn't this big, but I spent quite a lot of time there."

"Hermione!" a girl shouted, and came running into the room.Her red hair flooded behind her, and Tom spun around and looked straight into the eyes of Ginny Weasley.

_Ah, Miss Weasley. She looks much better now then she did in her second year, _Tom thought as he studied the girl Her red hair was falling down to her elbows, and her eyes were glowing.She'd gotten a bit taller by the years and she now looked like a teenager girl, a very good-looking teenage girl.

"Hey, I'm Tom Marvolo," Tom smiled one of his most charming smiles, the one he normally reserved for the teachers, and reached out his hand.

Ginny, on the other hand looked like she'd just seen a ghost. Her face was pale, and Tom wondered if she was about to faint. She surely looked like it.

"Hey, Ginny, what's the matter?" Hermione placed a hand on Ginny's shoulder, and the younger girl snapped out of her mood.

"_You_!" she hissed, and Tom was taken aback by the hate in her voice.

She took a step towards him, eyes blazing with hate and anger.

"_Who the HELL let you into the school!_" she screamed and Tom took a step back, not sure what to say to calm the girl down. Maybe it was better to leave that problem to Hermione.

"Ginny! What is it?!" Hermione took a hold of one of Ginny's arms and turned the girl towards her.

Ginny was boiling with anger by now, and it frightened Hermione. She'd never seen Ginny like that before.

"Let go of my arm Hermione!"she hissed and yanked her arm out Hermione's grip. "I'm going to go and see Dumbledore! And I'll _get _that…that _thing _thrown out of here!"

Tom raised an eyebrow. He'd never known that Ginny had such a temper. Too bad she wasn't on the Dark Side.

"Gin! Calm down." Hermione tried. When it didn't work, she turned towards Tom, "Do you know what's she's talking about?"

"I don't have a clue," Tom answered, "maybe I'm reminding her of someone she, …uhm…, doesn't like?"

He looked at the raging Ginny and smiled innocently.

"You always was a good actor _Tom_," she spat out, "I don't know what your doing here, but I can guarantee that you won't be staying!"

"Gin! What the hell are you talking about?!" Hermione asked, looking from the furious Ginny to Tom and back.

Ginny looked about ready to murder, and her voice shook with anger when she answered.

"That _creature_ standing before you is Tom Marvolo Riddle. Better known as The Dark Lord Voldemort!" 

"WHAT?!" Now Hermione was yelling, and Tom flinched at the sound.

_Well, it was fun while it lasted_, Tom thought.

"I think we should go to the Headmaster and get this sorted out," Hermione said, and looked at Tom.

"You know, I don't know who that Tom fellow is, but I know that I'm not Lord Voldemort. You have clearly mistaken me for someone else," Tom said, and crossed his arms.

"Well, if that's so _Tom_, then you wouldn't mind coming with us to the Headmaster and clear this out once and for all," Ginny grinned evilly.

"Of course not, why should I?" Tom shrugged and started walking towards the headmaster's office. Hermione and Ginny followed closely.

* * *

"Tom, Hermione, Ginerva," Dumbledore greeted, "what can I do for you?" 

Tom only shrugged, and waited for Ginny to start talking.

"Headmaster, why in the world is Tom Riddle here?!" Ginny asked, pointing towards Tom, who was smiling sheepishly.

"Yes, I've been waiting for that question," Dumbledore said, and his words sent a cold chill down Tom's spine.

* * *

A/N: Okay. That's it for now. See you next time. Yes, and check out my journal on, www. /users /poenix/ 

Just remove the spaces, or go to my bio and press homepage. If you get a messenge that the site isn't working, then remove everyting in front of www. xanga except the http part and press enter. I'll be using it to post informasion about my story.


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Praeter erratum praeter

Disclaimer:I don't owe any of the characters you may recognise from Rowling's books. (to bad really)

Beta: Kalathetrumpeter

Warning: Some of the characters will be OOC, especially Tom. If you don't like it, don't read the story...

Summary: A youth potion gives Riddle more trouble than he'd expected. First the Death Eaters refuses to take orders from a 16 year-old-boy and Lucius decids to take over. Throwing Riddle out onto the streets. Then he ends up at Hogwarts. "Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.

A/N: I know, I know. _Where have you been you stupid author? _And I'm really sorry. It's just that I've so much homework right now, and tests, and other things. And the time just seems to fly away. Anyway, here's the 9th chapter. Hopefully you'll all enjoy it, all thought I don't think it's the best one.

* * *

Kalathetrumpeter: Thanks . 

DarkRoseBlood: Yeah I know. I just had to end it there .

Wanamaker: I tried to make this chapter a bit longer. Promise I'll make the next one even longer.

Riuet: Nice to hear that you liked it . Hopefully I'll hear more from you. And I hope you'll update your story too soon. It's just brilliant :D.

Kittybro: Yeah, the plan was to make it a Tom/Hermione fic, but now I'm not so sure anymore. She will be in the story thought. Anyway, I'll se what I come up with.

Zaralya: Thanks :D.

Vigrest: I know it's been a long time since I updated, but here's the chapter.

Artemis1000: Thanks. I thought it would be a lot more fun, if Tom was to be in Gryffindor :D.

Cocoaducks: Here's your chapter.

* * *

Previous chapter: 

"_Tom, Hermione, Ginerva," Dumbledore greeted, "what can I do for you?"_

_Tom only shrugged, and waited for Ginny to start talking._

"_Headmaster, why in the world is Tom Riddle here?!" Ginny asked, pointing towards Tom, who was smiling sheepishly. _

"_Yes, I've been waiting for that question," Dumbledore said, and his words sent a cold chill down Tom's spine_

* * *

Chapter 9 

Tom stared at the headmaster, like he'd suddenly grown a second head.

_How does he know?_ Tom thought.

"Miss Granger, Miss Weasly, I would like you to meet Tom Marvolo Riddle," Dumbledore smiled, and motioned towards Tom, who was standing by the door.

Both the girls turned and glared at him, which made him feel uncomfortable. Hermione looked surprised and angry, while Ginny was grinning triumphantly. Tom gave them a small smile and muttered, "Hi".

"He…what?…how?" Hermione spluttered, and sank down in a chair in front of Dumbledore's desk.

"Yes, Headmaster, why _is_ The Dark Lord here?" Ginny asked.

Tom only scowled at Ginny's back. The girl had surely changed. She wasn't the innocent girl that she'd been when his younger self had tricked her into opening the Chamber of Secrets. And then there was Dumbledore. Tom didn't have a clue how the old man knew who he was. But the problem was that he _did_ know, and Tom wondered why he hadn't said anything about it earlier. It did, on the other hand, explain why the old fool had wanted him to come to Hogwarts, and why he'd hesitated about getting him a wand. Ollivander was properly in good health, too. Tom was pretty sure that Dumbledore had lied about Ollivander being in St. Mungo's.

Tom clenched his teeth in anger. _He_ was the one who had been fooled all along, and he didn't like being tricked, at especially not by his old Transfiguration teacher.

"Tom!"

The voice drew Tom back to reality, and he looked at the Headmaster.

"What?" he snarled.

"I was just telling Miss Granger and Miss Weasly here, that you are going to stay here for the rest of the year, and they are wondering how you came to look like your own 16-year-old-self. And to be honest I am too. Do you care to tell us?"

"No, not really," Tom sneered.

"Well, then. Girls, I would like to talk to Tom alone. Could you please return to your dorms?" Dumbledore asked the two girls gently. They nodded and left. As the door closed behind them, Tom's anger boiled over.

"How long?" he demanded.

"Since I saw you in St. Mungo's," was the answer.

"And why did you trick me into believing that you didn't know who I was?!" Tom snarled, and crossed his arms over his chest.

Dumbledore smiled slightly, which mad Tom even more furious.

"WELL?!" Tom screamed, and a glass, which was standing on the desk, exploded. Tom looked dumbfound at the shattered pieces, knowing perfectly well that it was his anger which had made the glass explode.

"Calm down Tom," Dumbledore said. He pointed his wand at the broken glass and muttered "_Reparo_!" and the glass was once more whole.

"Please take a seat," Dumbledore continued, and pointed towards on of the chairs.

"I prefer to stand," Tom sneered.

"Suit yourself then," the headmaster smiled, "As for your question. You didn't seem to want anyone to find out who you were, so I merely did what I thought you wanted."

"You forced me to come to Hogwarts!"

"I gave you a choice," Dumbeldore reminded him.

"Yeah? It was either this, or you would have sent me back to an orphanage that doesn't exist!"

"Still, it was a choice."

"Oh, shut up!" Tom muttered. He turned and walked towards the door.

"And where are you going?" Dumbledore asked, sounding amused.

"Anywhere, but here," was the Slytherin's reply.

"Tom, be reasonable. You have nowhere to go. No money, and no wand. Where would you go?"

The headmaster's words made Tom stop. His hand was resting on the doorknob, but his thoughts where far gone.

Where would he go? The old fool was right, he had to admit that. He didn't have any money, and he doubted that he could get job or anything like that. Not to mention that Lucius still had his wand.

"Tom," the voice was soft now, "admit it. The only place left is here."

Tom frowned. Who was the old man trying to fool? He couldn't stay at Hogwarts. He couldn't, and he didn't want to either.

"Forget it!" he snapped, and rushed out the door before Dumbledore could stop him.

Dumbledore only sighed and picked up a candy from a jar on the desk. Thankfully, the spirited youth couldn't go far. Dumbledore knew Tom would come to his senses, he just needed some time. Right now he was angry, and wasn't thinking straight. If he gave the Slytherin until tomorrow to calm down, then Tom might be able to see things for what they were.

While Dumbledore was eating candies in his office, Tom was running through the castle, only stopping to avoid the flights of stairs that changed directions. In the end he stopped and looked around. Where was he? Upon hearing someone sob from a room nearby, he started walking towards the noise. Curious he peeked through the door, and found himself in the girl's bathroom.Slowly he walked inside, well knowing that he shouldn't be there, and looked for whoever was causing the noises.

"Anyone here?" he called softly, and looked around. His eyes caught sight of the sinks, and he stopped. He knew where he was. This was where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was.

"Who are you?" a voice asked behind him. He spun around. He was standing face to face with the girl he had killed so many years ago, Moaning Myrtle.

"Uhm…. hi," Tom said. Wondering about what to say to a girl whose death he was responsible for, "I'm Tom Riddle."

"Did you come to see me?" The girl asked tilting her head a bit to the side.

"No, not really," Tom admitted, and turned his back on her. He was more interested in the entrance.

Myrtle let out a howl that startled Tom, and then she disappeared down a toilet.

"Merlin, she was touchy," Tom muttered and walked around the circle of sinks until he found the one he was looking for. The snake stood out clearly on the tap, and Tom grinned. He knew exactly where he was going.

:/:Open up:/: he hissed in parseltongue, and the sinks started moving. Soon, they had uncovered a black whole in the ground, and Tom jumped in.

Tom fell for what felt like forever. When he finally reached the bottom, he landed hard on the bones of rats and whatever the Basilisk had been living on.

He got to his feet, and walked through the maze of corridors, noticing on the way that there seemed to have been an explosion, because parts of the ceiling had fallen down.

When he finally reached the last door, he sighed in relief.

:/:Open up:/: he hissed once again, and the door swung open. Tom smirked to himself and walked inside. The room was covered in darkness, and Tom failed to see the ladder that would have brought him down to the floor. Instead he continued to walk straight ahead and stumbled over it and fell down, landing on the rock-hard floor below him.

He let out a cry of pain before blacking out.

* * *

A stinging pain in his leg woke him up several hours later. And he hissed in pain as he sat up. Slowly he tried to move his left leg, but he was rewarded with a sharp pain that slowly spread through his whole body. 

"Bloody hell!" he cursed out loud. Tom slowly reached for the ladder, and used it as support, and then he dragged himself to his feet. Once he was standing, he noticed that several torches now was lightening up the Chamber, which had been covered in darkness. He also noticed the remains of what had been his pet Basilisk. Angry, he cursed Potter in every possible way for killing his pet, and slowly limped towards the dead snake, while cursing his stupid memory for every painful step he took.

Why the hell hadn't he remembered the damn ladder? This was the second time he had fallen down. The first time he'd done it, had been when he first discovered the Chamber. Only back then he'd survived the fall with only a couple of bruises. Now he had most likely broken his leg.

Tom managed to limp all the way towards the snake before he collapsed beside it. He groaned as his injured leg made contact with the ground. Furious, he let himself fall down on the ground and stared up into the ceiling, while he tried ignoring the fact that the wet ground slowly was soaking his robes.

He'd really done it this time. There was no way that he could get back up, into the school, with a damaged leg. Hell, he couldn't even walk 20 feet before collapsing.

_Great, I'm probably going to die down here!_ Tom thought irritated, and closed his eyes.

"You know, I really do doubt that," a voice suddenly said.

Tom's eyes snapped open, and he looked around to see whom it was that had spoken.

"Who's there?" he asked.

"It's me, Marvolo. I think you still owe me an explanation," A familiar voice said, and Tom looked up. A ghost was flooding a couple of feet above the ground, Salazar Slytherin's ghost to be exact.

"Merlin's sake! You nearly scared me to death!" Tom exclaimed.

"Sorry boy, I didn't think you were so easy to scare. After all, you're my heir." Salazar landed on the floor and walked up to Tom, who was still lying on the floor.

"So what are you doing here? And be glad I'm only a ghost, or else I would have hexed you into next week! How the hell did you manage to get yourself placed in Gryffindor of all places?!" Salazar sneered, staring down at his young Heir.

"It was the damned Hat! It did it on purpose!" Tom defended.

"And what are you doing here then?" Salazar asked, not looking pleased at all.

"Well, uhm…I kind of…" Tom trailed of and looked down at his hands.

"YES?!" Salazar asked, and Tom could tell he was starting to get angry.

"Lucius attacked me during a meeting and uhm…" he hesitated, "Threw me out," he finally muttered.

"And how, may I ask, is it that a lowlife Death Eater was able to overpower the most powerful wizard alive?"

"He surprised me! Merlin, I hadn't expected him to attack me! He caught me of guard, and then I hit my head against the wall and blacked out."

Tom flinched when he saw the rage that was developing in Salazar, and he was truly grateful that the man only was a ghost. Or else he most likely would have been cursed into oblivion.

"OF ALL THE STUPID THINGS YOU'VE MANAGED TO DO DURING THE LAST 50 YEARS, THIS HAS TO BE THE WORST ONE!" Salazar roared, making Tom jump in fear.

"But…I…he," Tom stuttered.

"Shut up!" Slytherin sneered, and Tom immediately shut his mouth.

Then he seemed the calm down a bit, "And then?" he asked, "What happened?"

Tom sighed and told the rest of the story. Then he fell silent and waited for Salazar to start screaming again.

"And then you came down here to hide from Albus, right?"

Tom nodded.

"And how did you injure your leg?"

"I forgot the ladder and fell down instead."

"I see," Salazar said.

Tom started rubbing his eyes absently and waited for the Slytherin to continue. He was starting to feel dizzy for some reason, and he felt like he was on the edge of pass out.

"Well, I guess I should go and tell Dumbledore where he can find my useless Heir. After all, we can't risk you dying can we?" he asked maliciously.

"NO! Hey! WAIT!" Tom screamed and somehow got to his feet, but the ghost had already faded.

"Brilliant!" Tom said loud. A wave of nausea suddenly hit him, and he started swaying, and before he could think another thought, he fell to the floor unconscious.

* * *

A/N: I know this chapter was horrible. **Sighs**. Well I promise I won't take this long to update again. 


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Praeter erratum praeter

Disclaimer:I don't owe any of the characters you may recognise from Rowling's books. (to bad really)

Beta: Kalathetrumpeter

Warning: Some of the characters will be OOC, especially Tom. If you don't like it, don't read the story...

Summary: A youth potion gives Riddle more trouble than he'd expected. First the Death Eaters refuses to take orders from a 16 year-old-boy and Lucius decids to take over. Throwing Riddle out onto the streets. Then he ends up at Hogwarts. "Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.

A/N: I'm tired of the school and everything else. I just want to sleep!!! Well anyway, do any of you actually read the Authors note at the beginning of each chapter?

Well, thanks to my Beta reader for her wonderful job. **Gives ****kalathetrumpeter a huge hug!**

Normally I always use to give response to the reviews, and I do love all of you readers, but this time I put my respond up in my Live Journal. So if anyone asked a specific question then that's the place to go. The link is in my bio under homepage.

Here the other day, I was reading through the whole story and I realized that it's pretty stupid. At the moment I just want to remove the whole thing and start all over again, or at least change the beginning. Then again I could put it in the humor section, which properly is where it belongs. Well, enough complains, here's chapter 10.

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_Previous chapter:_

_Riddle started rubbing his eyes absently and waited for the Slytherin to continue. He was starting to feel dizzy for some reason, and he felt like he was on the edge of passing out. _

"_Well, I guess I should go and tell Dumbledore where he can find my useless Heir. After all, we can't risk you dying can we?" he asked maliciously. _

"_NO! Hey! WAIT!" Riddle screamed and somehow got to his feet, but the ghost had already faded. _

"_Brilliant!" Riddle said out loud. A wave of nausea suddenly hit him, and he started swaying, and before he could think another thought, he fell to the floor unconscious._

* * *

Chapter 10 

Riddle felt like a dragon had been chewing on him. His head hurt, his leg felt like it had been torn off, and not mention that his throat was so dry it felt like he'd swallowed a bottle of sand.

He moaned silently, flipped over on his side, and curled up under the blankets.

The sound of low voices reached his ears, but he was asleep before he could pull together enough strength to start listening to what they were saying.

* * *

The next time he woke up, the sun was shining through the windows, and he realised he'd been sleeping for a very long time. 

With a yawn, he sat up in the bed and looked around. He was in the hospital wing, no surprise there. He was getting tired of hospitals, first he'd spend a nearly a week in St. Mungos, and now he was once again stuck in a sick bed, this time with a broken foot.

The door opened, and Dumbledore stepped through it. A smile broke out on his face as he realized that Riddle was awake. Riddle, on the other hand, scowled at the sight of the old Headmaster.He knew that the old man would try and convince him that the he was better off staying at Hogwarts, and Riddle was starting to, all thought he didn't want to admit it, understand that Dumbledore was right. He didn't have any other places to go.

"Good morning, or should I say good afternoon. It's nearly four p.m., you've been asleep for sixteen hours." Dumbledore said and placed himself on the bed next to Riddle's, "I need to know, Tom, why did you go down to the Chamber of Secrets?"

Riddle greeted his teeth angrily. Why did the old fool always insist on knowing everything about everyone?

"I didn't know where else to go," he finally admitted. Then he suddenly remembered something and looked up.

"I know Salazar told you where I was, but how did you manage to enter the Chamber? You need to be a parselmouth to be allowed in"

"Harry," was the simple reply.

"So…eh…how did he take the news about me being here?"

"Not good," the headmaster honestly admitted, "But I think Miss Granger was able to calm him down."

"Oh," was all Riddle could say.

"So, how did you injure leg?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"None of your business!" Riddle hissed poisonously, suddenly snapping back into his old mood.

"Well, I would like to know anyway," Dumbledore said, smiling gently.

Riddle glared angrily at him, but in the end he gave in and answered, "I forgot the ladder and fell down."

"I see. Well, Madam Pomfrey should be up soon to fix your leg." The headmaster got up and made his way towards the door, but the Slytherin stopped him before he could leave the room.

"What's going to happen to me now?" although Riddle tried to sound like he didn't care about the answer, he failed. He wasn't able to keep a nervous tone from entering his voice.

Dumbledore turned around in the doorframe and answered with a smile, "Let Poppy fix your leg first, and then we'll talk about your stay here."

* * *

Riddle had fallen back to sleep by the time the nurse entered the room. 

Madam Pomfrey smiled slightly as she came into the room and eyed the sleeping teen, who was currently lying on the bed, curled up in a fetal position.

It was hard to imagine that the sleeping youth was the Dark Lord Voldemort. There wasn't anything about the young boy that reminded the nurse about the snake-like monster who had been terrorizing the Wizard World for years.

She made her way over to the bed and pulled out her wand. It was better to fix the leg before the boy woke up, then he might not notice the pain that came with the spell.

Silently she muttered the complicated healing spell and placed her wand on the foot. A blue light emerged from the tip of the wand, and surrounded the broken leg. Slowly the light pushed the bones back to place, and with a last crack it was soldered together.

Riddle moaned in is sleep and tossed around, making the covers fall off him, but he didn't wake up. In stead he gave one last moan before falling back into deep sleep.

Poppy smiled and pushed the blankets over the sleeping form before retreating back to her office.

* * *

The first thing Riddle noticed when he woke up, a couple of hours later, was that his leg wasn't hurting anymore. Carefully he moved it to make sure he wasn't imagining anything. But no, his leg had actually been healed. 

The sound of footsteps made him look up, and he saw an older lady with blond hair approach his bed.

"Hello," she smiled, "I'm Madam Pomfrey."

Riddle only stared.

For some reason that only made the nurse's smile widen.

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

"Not really," he lied.

Madam Pomfrey frowned, and Riddle understood that she had seen straight through his lie.

"I would appreciate if you didn't lie to me, Mr. Riddle," she said.

Riddle's jaw dropped by her words, but he recovered fast.

_Bloody hell, he's told the whole school_! Riddle thought angry. Not only was he stuck at Hogwarts, but the old fool had also told the whole school who he was. And that was something he would have given a avoid.

"Now give me a straight answer, are you hungry?" Madam Pomfrey asked again, and her voice implied she wouldn't be tolerant of another lie.

"Yes, I'm hungry. Happy?" he sneered.

"Yes. Then I'll go and fetch some food for you."

Riddle followed her with his eyes as she left, thinking that the nurse wasn't someone you disagreed with. As soon as the door closed behind her, he fell back down on the bed, and closed his eyes.

_I want to die_, he thought sadly. Life was really starting to get unbearable.

**_Are you getting suicidal as well?_ **a voice asked inside his head.

Riddle sighed and didn't bother answering the voice. He _had_ thought about suicide more than once over the last couple of days. But before he could think more about it, the nurse entered carrying a tray.

"Here," she said and placed the tray before him, "Albus will be up in a moment."

Riddled nodded slowly and grabbed the fork. He really was hungry, so he started picking through the food on the plate with out complains.

He didn't have to wait long before Dumbledore arrived, smiling brightly at him.

"God morning," he smiled, and Riddle nodded.

"How are you feeling?" Dumbledore asked and conjured a chair out of thin air. He sat slowly and looked at Riddle.

"Better," Riddle answered honestly and took a new piece of steak.

"Good, good. Because I have a proposition for you."

"Do I actually get to choose this time?" Riddle asked suspiciously.

Dumbledore's eyes started to twinkle, "Depends on how you see it."

Riddle raised an eyebrow skeptically. Yeah, that sounded very reassuring.

"Well, let's hear?"

Dumbledore smiled and began to speak, "The choice is really very simple. You see, your dear Lucius Malfoy has been kind enough to inform the Ministry of your little problem. Cornelius is furious and wants you sent to Azkaban this instant. I'm just coming from a meeting with him."

Dumbledore looked at Riddle, who had gotten paler when he mentioned Azkaban Prison.

"But I think I managed to convince him to let you stay here for the time being."

Riddle sighed in relief.

"So, your choice is, you either stay here for the next two years, take the classes, or you can go to Azkaban.

You have all ready tried to become the most feared wizard in the world, and you reached your goal. You became the Dark Lord Voldemort, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. You got over hundred followers, who followed you and feared you. But haven't you ever wondered how life would have been if you had chosen another path?"

Dumbledore paused for a moment before continuing.

"Everyone deserves a second chance, Tom. Even you. Please consider it."

Riddle was silent for nearly ten minutes. His thoughts were swirling around in his head. He could start all over again. Dumbledore was right. He had often wondered about how his life would have been if he'd chosen another path.

Well, he didn't really have a choice when it came to that. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he stayed at Hogwarts.

"You know, that isn't a choice," Riddle snarled.

"Yes, it is," Dumbledore said.

"Fine, whatever."

"And your decision?"

"I'm staying," Riddle muttered.

Dumbledore smiled widely, and Riddle scowled. The old man was fare too happy for his liking.

"I'm glad, Tom, and I will get someone to go to Diagon Alley and pick up the things you will be needing for your stay."

"Hold on a moment," Riddle said slowly, "I've got one condition."

Dumbledore sighed. He knew what was coming.

"I want to be in Slytherin! I'm after all the Heir of Slytherin, and I'm _not _going to spend two years in _Gryffindor_!"

"Tom," Dumbledore started, but he was cut of by Riddle.

"No!"

Dumbledore sighed again. He knew that it was no use to try and convince the stubborn youth that he would be better of in Gryffindor, and quite frankly hadn't he expected anything else.

"I'll make the arrangement. You will have your own room, and a new wand."

"What?"

"Well, there is no more room in the boys dorm, and Lucius still has your wand."

"Oh, okay."

* * *

"Satisfied?" Dumbledore asked and watched the Slytherin, who was walking around in his new room. 

The room was huge, and Riddle recognised it as the Head Boy room. It was done in green and sliver, with a huge four-poster bed in the middle of the room. A fireplace was placed on the opposite wall, two black armchairs in front of it. Three huge windows allowed the sun to light up the room, and a three-piece suite stood in the corner beside the windows. A couple of bookshelves and a desk took up most of the wall left for the bed, and a huge wardrobe and the door that led into the bathroom occupied the right one. Various paintings of landscapes and animals hung on the walls, and helped making the room more welcoming.

"Yeah, it's nice," Riddle smiled.

"Good. Then I'll leave you to yourself. You school supplies are on you desk along with a new wand. Good night."

Riddle nodded and watched the headmaster leave. When the door closed behind him, Riddle let himself fall onto the bed and closed his eyes. He needed sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

Title: Praeter erratum praeter

Disclaimer: I don't owe any of the characters you may recognise from Rowling's books. (to bad really)

Beta: Kalathetrumpeter

Warning: Some of the characters will be OOC, especially Tom.If you don't like it, don't read the story...

Summary: A youth potion gives Riddle more trouble than he'd expected. First the Death Eaters refuses to take orders from a 16 year-old-boy and Lucius decids to take over. Throwing Riddle out onto the steets. Then he ends up at Hogwarts. "Dosen't everyone deserve a second chance, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.

A/N: Hehe, this has to be the fastest update I've done this far. Well, hopefully you'll like it. The responds to the reviews are in my Live Journal, if anyone finds that annoying, please let me know.

And it might be a while before the next update. I'm having some problems with the next chapter, but I think it will come around eventually.

* * *

Chapter 11 

The morning came far to fast for Riddle's liking. He was starting to get nervous about meeting the students.

It was funny really. He had been the Dark Lord for as long as he could remember, feared by every wizard in the world, and now he was nervous about being re-introduced to his old school. Riddle shook his head and got up from the bed. He needed to get ready for breakfast.

Slowly, he got up from the comforting bed and retrieved a pair of robes from the dresser. He sent a silent thank-you to Dumbledore for buying the clothes for him, along with the rest of the things he needed for his stay. With a yawn, he made his way to the bathroom and into the shower.

* * *

When Riddle came down, he found the common room thankfully empty.The fire was burning lively, and the room was warm and welcoming, although Riddle didn't feel at all like he was welcome. He walked quickly through the room and out the opening, which was guarded by a portrait of Salazar Slytherin. 

"And where are you off to this early in the morning Marvolo?" The founder asked as Riddle emerged from the opening.

Riddle sighed. Salazar was the only one who always called him by his middle name. Mostly because Riddle's mother's last name was Marvolo, and because Salazar hated Riddle's father, Tom Riddle, for what he'd done to Riddle's mum. So he refused to call Riddle by any other name than Marvolo. Thankfully it seemed like the Founder had got over the whole 'useless Heir' thing. At least he hadn't mentioned anything about it.

"Breakfast," Riddle replied and walked of in direction of the Great Hall.

People stared as he entered the Hall, probably wondering about who he was, and what he was doing at Hogwarts.

Covering a yawn, Riddle slid down on a seat at the empty Slytherin table and grabbed a sandwich, and a glass of pumpkin juice.

_I wish they would stop staring_, Riddle sighed and took a sip form his glass, _I'm not an animal in a zoo for crying out loud._

"Who are you?" The sneering, arrogant voice beside him was oddly familiar and Riddle looked up.

Draco Malfoy was standing cross-armed beside him with a superior look on his face.

Riddle considered for few seconds if Draco was someone it was worth answering, but decided to see if the blond would recognise him.

"Tom Riddle," he said, eyeing the other boy coldly.

"I'm Draco Malfoy," the other said and stared at Riddle, like he knew he'd heard the name somewhere, but couldn't remember where. In the end, he shook his head and took a seat beside Riddle.

"So, where did you transfer from?" Malfoy asked curiously.

"I can't see that that's any of your business," Riddle answered, taking another sandwich from one of the plates.

"Do you know who you're talking to?!" Malfoy spat, his face turning red from anger.

Riddle turned towards him, smiling slightly.

"Have you ever heard the term, 'curiosity killed the cat'?" he asked, amused. When Malfoy shook his head, Riddle smiled.

"It's a Muggle term, and I think you should take the advice." With that Riddle took his books, stood, and left the Hall, leaving behind a confused and angry Malfoy. The rest of the Slytherin students, who never had heard anyone, except Harry Potter maybe, talk to Malfoy in that way, stared after him in astonishment.

Riddle frowned as he made his way towards the Potion Classroom. So that was Lucius's son. He looked like a copy of his father. He had the same hair, eyes, and not to mention attitude. Riddle rubbed his eyes and yawned as he stopped outside the potion classroom.

Dumbledore had given him the schedule yesterday, and he hadn't been happy to see that his first class was going to be with Snape, together with the Gryffindors.

Getting tired of waiting in the hallway he opened the door and entered the room.

"My Lord," Snape said, eyeing the teen in the in the doorframe.

"Severus," Riddle nodded and sat down by one of the desks.

"You're in my class?" the Potion Master asked in disbelief.

"Seems like it," Riddle answered placing his head in his hand for support, "So, what are you going to teach us this year?"

"Wolfsbane potion, among other things," Snape answered.

"Oh," Riddle answered.

"May I ask you a question, My Lord?" Snape asked.

"Depends on the question," Riddle replied.

Snape sighed, "Why did you accept Albus's offer?"

For a moment the elder man was afraid that the Slytherin Heir was going to curse him into oblivion for asking, but the youth only frowned before giving Snape a small smile.

"I think I'm going to hear that question a lot," Riddle said, but before he could say anything else the door burst open and the other students entered.

Harry was the first one to walk inside, and he stopped dead in his tracks when he caught the sight of Riddle. The sudden stop made Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley walk straight into him.

"Hey Harry," Ron exclaimed, trying to get back his balance.

"You got to be kidding," Harry hissed.

:/:Surprised to see me?:/: Riddle said teasingly in parseltongue.

The rest of the class stared at him in shock. The only person they had ever heard speak in snake language was Harry. And now there was another boy, who looked scarily like Harry, who also could speak the language.

:/:Not really. I guess Dumbledore had something like this in mind!:/: Harry hissed back.

In English he said, "Well, the Dark Lord has returned to Hogwarts. Who would have thought that?"

Riddle scowled at the Potter Heir as he watched the other students go pale, and one of them, a shy nervous boy, Riddle thought his name was Neville, fainted.

"Take your seats!" Snape ordered, and watched as the students take their places. Neville was left lying on the floor.

"Open your books on page 12!"

The class sighed and opened their books. Some picked up their quills and inks from their bags.

The class passed quickly. The only interruption happened when Neville finally started waking up. He opened his eyes and looked around.

"What happened?" he muttered. Then his eyes fell on Riddle and he passed out again.

Riddle sighed and rubbed his eyes absently, while he tried to ignore the nasty glares he got from both the Gryffindors and the Slytherins.

* * *

He somehow managed to get through the whole day with out getting hexed, or losing his temper. The students mostly feared him, and backed away from him in the corridors. In the Transfiguration Class, which the Slytherins had together with the Hufflepuffs, Professor McGonagall had spent half the time waking up the Hufflepuff students. Most of them had fainted when she had presented Riddle. Not that he cared, but both Potter and Malfoy was after him now. And none of them were exactly happy to say the least. 

As soon as the Transfiguration class was over, which was the last class of the day, he skipped dinner and headed for is own room.

_This has got to be the worst day ever_, he thought and collapsed onto his bed, _if this is going to continue then I'll probably end up dead before Christmas. _

Riddle wished with all his might that he hadn't taken Dumbledore's offer. Death was starting to seem really tempting.

"Tom," the voice penetrated Riddle's sleeping mind and his eyes floated open.

"Uhm?"

"You have fallen asleep on you books and rolls of parchment." Dumbledore said gently.

Riddle rubbed his eyes and looked around himself. True, he had fallen asleep before he had the chance to place the bag of books on the floor. And now the books where scattered all over the bed.

"Damn," he muttered and started to gather the books together.

"Are you alright?" The headmaster asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm just-" a huge yawn broke of the sentence, "tired," he finished once the yawn had subsided.

"Well, get some sleep. I need to talk to you afterwards."

"What now?" Riddle groaned. He was sick and tired of Dumbledore's talking.

"Cornelius Fudge."

"The Ministry of Magic?"

"Yes, and he wants to meet you."

"Meet me?" Riddle looked dumbstruck.

"Well, I guess it's more like an interrogation."

Riddle groaned, "I could have guessed that."

Dumbledore smiled slightly and left the room. Riddle stared after him before a thought struck him.

He got up from the bed and raced after Dumbledore down the stairs.

"Wait," he called, and the older man turned around.

"Yes?" Dumbledore asked.

"When are we supposed to leave?"

"Tomorrow morning. So you'll miss your classes."

"Okay. Just wondered." Riddle turned and made his way back to his room, wondering about what exactly the Minister wanted to know.

He threw himself back down onto the bed, after removing the books, and fell back into sleep.

* * *

Riddle woke up several hours later and after a quick glance at the clock, which showed that it was supper, he got up. 

The Great Hall was full of students, who were eating and chatting, but once he entered the room they all fell silent.

"Oh, for heavens sake!" Riddle exclaimed, "I'm not going to hex you or kill you!" The students only stared at him, and Riddle growled silently.

Even the Slytherins, his own house, were giving him nasty looks.

"You're not welcome here, Riddle!" Malfoy sneered.

"Don't worry," Riddle answered, his voice was fairly dripping with venom, "I have no intentions of staying."

With that, he grabbed a couple of sandwiches and left, feeling the gaze from every student burning into his back.

Not knowing where to go, he headed up the stairs. He walked through the corridors with no clue on where he was going. In the end, he ended up on the fourth floor, outside the library.

_Why not_, he thought and reached for the doorknob, when suddenly the door burst open and a girl came tumbling out, her arms full with books. She crashed into him, making them both fall to the floor, covered by books.

"What the hell?" Riddle hissed angrily and freed himself of the books. He looked up and straight into a couple of dark brown eyes, surrounded by dark tangled hair.

"Oh, I'm sorry Riddle," the girl said and extended a hand to help him up.

Riddle glared and got to his feet by himself. He brushed off his robes and watch the girl pick up her books. One of the books caught his interest and he grabbed it before she was able to take it.

'_How to become an Animagus._'

Riddle raised an eyebrow and looked up.

"The last time I checked, this book belonged in the restricted session."

Hermione tilted her head to the side and smiled slightly.

"That might be," she said with a mysteriously smile, "but I'm still borrowing the book. Can I please have it back?"

"You don't really believe that you, a mudblood, will be able to change into an Animagus?" Riddle snarled with contempt.

She grinned, obviously not offended by his words, "We'll see. I had brain enough to save your life, remember?"

Before Riddle got the chance to reply, she'd grabbed the book and left.

Riddle stared after her. She sure got a nerve. There was no way she would be able to turn into an Animagus. She was a mudblood! Slowly, he shook his head and entered the library. He groaned as he heard the students gasp in fear, and the sound of someone hitting the floor.

"Mr. Riddle!" Madam Pince exclaimed and rushed over to the poor Hufflepuffs that had blacked out.

"It's not my fault they're such cowards," Riddle defended and headed for the shelves. Behind him he could hear the students leaving as fast as they could.

He searched through the shelves for something to read, or rather, for something that the blasted Professor would let him borrow. Dumbledore had told him clearly that every book he wanted to borrow had to be authorized by a teacher. Obviously the old man didn't trust him. Riddle could understand that, really, but it was irritating.

"Can you please find a book and get out, Mr. Riddle," the librarian asked, getting impatient.

Riddled sighed and grabbed the first book he saw, 'Charms and spell from the ancient Egypt' by Roseanne Tynleen.

With out a word, he handed Madam Price the book and she examined it before handing it back.

"Oh, I'm really going to be allowed to read it?" Riddle asked in fake surprise.

"Get out!" she snarled, and Riddle left.

_Great, now I'm banished from the library as well_, Riddle thought as he walked towards the Slytherin dorm. Before he entered, he shrank the book and put it in his pocket.

He gave Salazar the password (serpentia) and walked inside. There he found Malfoy sitting on the couch, in front of the fire, along with the rest of the 7th years.

"Riddle!" Malfoy said, curling his lip in dislike.

Riddle only raised an eyebrow arrogantly and walked past the gang.

"Well, at least no one can say that you're not the Heir of Slytherin!" Draco snarled and looked at Riddle with disgust, "You obviously prefer survival over anything else!"

"Like you said," Riddle retorted, "A true Slytherin!"

"Get out of my sight!" the Malfoy Heir spat angry, and Riddle made a mocking bow and said,

"Trust me Draco, you not a person I prefer to stay in a conversation with." With that, he turned and left the common room.

He entered his room and sighed in irritation. Malfoy was really starting to turn out to be a problem. The boy was as arrogant as his father, if not worse.

His eyes caught sight of the pile of schoolbooks on his desk, reminding him that he actually had homework. Deciding it was best to get on with it, he reversed the size the book he'd borrowed and placed it on the bed, before sitting down by the desk.

His eyes caught the sight of his new wand and he smiled. The wand was 13 inches long, made of cedar, and with a unicorn tail hair. He still missed his old wand, but the new one was great too. Riddle was just happy he finally had a wand.

Still smiling, he picked up the first book and opened it

* * *

A/N: The meeting with the Minister is a bit necessary since the students now know who he is. You can imagine that most of them will be pretty quick to write home and tell their parents that The Dark Lord is at Hogwarts. So the Minister would have found out one way or the other. 


	12. Chapter 12

Title: Praeter erratum praeter

Disclaimer: I don't owe any of the characters you may recognise from Rowling's books. (to bad really)

Beta: kalathetrumpeter

Warning: Some of the characters will be OOC, especially Tom. If you don't like it, don't read the story...

Summary: A youth potion gives Riddle more trouble than he'd expected. First the Death Eaters refuse to take orders from a 16 year-old-boy and Lucius decides to take over, throwing Riddle out onto the streets. Then he ends up at Hogwarts. "Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.

A/N: Okay, here's the next chapter. Review responds are, as usual, in my LiveJournal. If that bothers anyone, please let me know. Tom is as usual OOC, though, I'm trying to change that, but I fail every time I try. Sorry.

* * *

Chapter 12 

"Ready?" Dumbledore asked.

They were standing in his office, getting ready for the interrogation. Riddle was dressed completely in black. He was wearing black robes, and a black cloak hung around his neck, the hood drawn up to cover his face.

Dumbledore, on the other hand, was dressed in light blue robes, which made his sharp eyes seem even bluer. On his head there was a blue hat, which Riddle thought would have looked better on a scarecrow. The hat was covered with small stars, which all were smiling brightly at him, and some of them were even winking at him. Riddle shuddered. The hat was truly horrible.

He tore his gaze away from the nasty, winking hat, and looked Dumbledore in the eye.

"Let's get it over with," he muttered. He wasn't at all keen on meeting the Minister. Cornelius Fudge had been a pain in the ass for long as Riddle could remember. Not to mention that the man was incompetent and stupid, and it was still a mystery to Riddle how the man had been elected Minister in the beginning. It was a wonder that the Wizard World hadn't been discovered by the muggles yet, with _that_ man running the show.

Riddle stepped inside the fireplace in Dumbledore's office. He dropped the powder and shouted, "The Ministry of Magic!" Immediately the world started spinning, and Riddle frowned. He hated travelling with Floo, it was so messy.

Riddle landed in a heap on the floor in the Ministry Hall, covered in dust and ashes. He quickly got to his feet, and made a mental note to himself to never wear white clothes when travelling by Floo.

Before he could get a chance to look around, two Aurors came out of nowhere and grabbed him by his arms. They magically tied his hands behind his back. Riddle growled silently in frustration, but he didn't do anything as the two Aurors searched him for his wand, which he hadn't brought with him. Once they were finished, they let go of his arms and turned towards the fireplace, where Dumbledore suddenly had showed up.

"I'm sure that this can't be necessary." Dumbledore said, as he saw Riddle and the two Aurors.

"The Minister had ordered it," the tallest of the Aurors explained, giving Riddle a nasty glare.

"Oh, let's just get this over with," Riddle hissed, and looked around, trying to find out where they were going. He had no plans to stay in the building any longer than necessary.

The Aurors nodded and led the way down one of the hallways. It was dark, and was clearly going underground.

Dumbledore gave Riddle a gentle pushed and a reassuring nod, and Riddle walked after the Aurors. He didn't like this one bit, although Dumbledore seemed to be in a good mood. Then again, was there a time when Dumbledore wasn't in a good mood?

They walked down the corridor in complete silence. After a while, Riddle recognised the corridor as the one that led underground to the integration room.

The Aurors stopped before a heavy oak door and motioned for Riddle and Dumbledore to go inside. They entered, and Riddle quickly understood that he had been tricked. This wasn't a normal interrogation; this was a full-scale trial.

He took an involuntary step back, and his eyes darted sceptically around the room.

In the centre of the room there was a chair with magical chains, which was where the accused was seated. The court members would sit above, overlooking the chair in the judge's balcony. At the moment, there were about 50 people seated there. They were all staring at Riddle with different degrees of anger, hate, surprise, and disbelief. Riddle mentally smiled. Well, they had good reasons to be angry at him. He had most likely killed some of their dear once, and now they wanted revenge. As for the surprise and disbelief, he guessed they hadn't expected him to look like a 16 year-old boy.

The walls where covered in dark stones, and the ceiling was placed high up. The only source of light came from the torches on the wall, which gave the room a dim light. It wasn't a room someone would call cosy, or friendly. It was made to make the accused nervous, and to scare those who already were scared. Not that any of that had any effect on Riddle.

The two guards shoved Riddle, none too gently, into the chair, and the chains immediately came to life, binding him tightly.

Riddle felt a small wave of panic as the chains tightened. He had never thought he'd someday end up in the Wizengamot. It had never occurred to him that the Ministry might someday catch him. The thought had been ridiculous, but yet here he was, chained to a chair. And his list of crimes had most likely developed into a two-meter long parchment roll.

The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, entered and everyone, except Riddle, who was still tied to the chair, stood.

Fudge nodded to the jury before approaching Riddle.

"I never thought I'd see the day," Fudge was grinning like an idiot, but Riddle could see that he was surprised by his appearance.Apparently Dumbledore had forgotten to tell the man that Riddle looked like his younger self again.

Riddle frowned and muttered, "Neither did I,"

Fudge picked up a vial from his pockets and held it in front of Riddle's eyes.

He smirked, "Open wide."

"Veritaserum?" Riddle asked, eying the vial suspiciously. It contained a blank liquid, which reminded Riddle all too well about the truth serum the Ministry used during their trials. He had often used it on his followers when he thought they were hiding something from him. Though, he had never tried it himself.

"Yes, now open up."

Riddle sighed and opened his mouth. Fudge poured the liquid into his mouth with a satisfying smirk that made Riddle furious. As he swallowed the potion a warm feeling started spreading through his body, making his brain go numb. He could still hear and see everything that was going on around him, but it felt like he was watching from outside a window.

The Minister picked up a parchment roll and started reading, "Tom Marvolo Riddle, you are accused of having murdered and tortured numerous people…"

Riddle sighed as the list went on. It took the Minister almost ten minutes to get through the whole list, and when he reached the end of it Riddle sighed in relief.

Then they went on to the question-and-answer part.

"What is you name?" The Minister asked, and Riddle could feel himself answering.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle."

"And you were the Dark Lord Vo-Voldemort?"

Riddle smiled slightly. The Minister couldn't even say his name without stuttering.

"Yes."

"And you confess that you have tortured and murdered nearly one hundred people?"

"Eh…I never counted how many, but I guess it's around 100, or more."

A collective gasp went through the jury, and many of them started whispering furiously to the person next to them.

Fudge turned and glared at the jury to make them shut up. They settled down and closed their mouths.

"How did you regain you younger body?" The Minister asked as soon as he had regained calmness in the room.

Ah, that was a question Riddle would gladly have given his right arm to avoid answering. But the potion was still working, and Riddle opened his mouth to answer. He told them how he'd spent a year, researching on youth potions to find one that allowed him to keep his powers on the same level. That he'd then used another three months to brew the potion.

A mumbling went trough the crowd of people when Riddle stopped, and there was a brief silence before the Minister spoke again.

"Why did you take Dumbledore's offer?"

Riddle sighed. Thankfully, the Minister hadn't asked how he'd ended up on Hogwarts.

He had expected the Minister to ask him why he'd accepted Dumbledore's offer, but he didn't know what to answer.

"I don't know," he finally answered.

"You don't know?" the Minister's voice seemed shocked. The answer was obviously not what the man had expected.

"I don't know," Riddle repeated, "I guess I just prefer survival. I'm, after all, the Heir of Slytherin."

The questions continued for nearly two hours before Riddle was given the antidote. During that time, the Minister had called up several witnesses, who had seen the Dark Lord kill their family or beloved once.

Riddle hadn't bothered to point out that he too had the right to call up witnesses in his own defence. After all, whom was he supposed to call up?

In the end, the jury had left to make their decision, and the only one left in the room was the Minister, Dumbledore, and Riddle.

"Well, thank you for your help, Albus, you're free to leave now."

Dumbledore frowned, but his voice was still gentle when he spoke, "Cornelius, Azkaban has no guards since the Dementors left. Wouldn't it be safer if I took him with me back to Hogwarts?"

Riddle frowned in confusion.

"What the hell is going on here?" he suddenly asked, and looked between Dumbledore and Fudge, "You told me I was going to stay at Hogwarts!" he said to Dumbledore, who sighed tiredly.

"That was my plan, yes, but it doesn't seem like Cornelius agrees with me."

"I don't. He's the Dark Lord, and the only place he's going is straight to Azkaban."

"Wanna bet?" Riddle snapped, sound exactly like the teenager he looked like.

Dumbledore looked at him with a look that clearly told Riddle to shut up, which, of course, Riddle ignored.

Fudge was, at the moment, gaping like a fish on land, and Riddle smirked.

"I didn't think so."

"Tom, leave it. Cornelius, I know the jury will declare him guilty, but I still think it would be better to keep him at Hogwarts. Give me until Christmas to prove it. I take full responsibility for his actions, and if it turns out to be a bad decision, then you can send him to Azkaban. Deal?"

Riddle opened his mouth to protest, but Dumbledore quickly threw a Silence Charm on the Slytherin, to prevent him from ruining his plan.

Fudge seemed to be thinking about the idea. If every think turned out to be a fiasco, then he would have a good reason to get rid of the old Headmaster as well, not only the young Dark Lord. Beside, he really doubted that the wizard guards, whom were now protecting the prison, would be too happy to have the Dark Lord there.

He quickly reached his decision, "Deal. You have until Christmas. If anything goes wrong, then it will be your head on the line. Understood? And you will have to deal with the students' parents. They will most likely be furious when they find out that the Dark Lord is being held at Hogwarts."

"Thank you Minister," Dumbledore smiled. He waved his wand at Riddle, releasing him from the chair.

Riddle stood still, glaring angrily at the Minister and the Headmaster. He wanted to give the Minister a piece of his mind, but he couldn't, seeing how Dumbledore hadn't removed the Silence Charm yet.

"Then we'll be on our way. Bye, Minister. Guess I'll hear from you around Christmas."

"Or sooner," Fudge replied, staring sceptically towards Riddle, who was glaring nastily back at him.

"Let's go, Tom," Dumbledore said, and pushed the youth out the door and towards the fireplace they had used to arrive there.

* * *

Dumbledore didn't remove the Silence Charm until they arrived back at Hogwarts, much too Riddle's sorrow. 

"That went better than expected," the Headmaster smiled, once he had removed the Silence Charm.

"_That _wasn't an interrogation, _that _was a TRIAL!" Riddle nearly screamed, "You said it was an interrogation!"

"I'm sorry, Tom, I honestly didn't know. Cornelius only told me that they would be asking you some questions. But it didn't go that bad."

Riddle glared, "Well, at least you didn't have to listen to two people talking about you over your head!" Riddle muttered angrily, and brushed the dust of his robes.

Dumbledore sighed heavily and removed his cloak, which he hung on a peg on the wall, "Cornelius isn't one of the most understanding people I know, but at least he didn't send you to Azkaban."

Riddle didn't seem impressed by his words, he actually seemed even more furious.

"I'm going to my room," Riddle announced and walked off, leaving Dumbledore alone.

Dumbledore looked at the boy and sighed again.

"Just remember, Tom, that it's up to you if you're going to stay here, or not. Please keep that in mind!" Dumbledore said, just before the door slammed shut behind the Slytherin.

Riddle rubbed his temples as he walked down the corridors. The meeting at the Ministry had given him a headache. Well, luckily for him, Fudge seemed to trust Dumbledore, or else Riddle would have been on his way to Azkaban by now. Or trust was maybe not the correct word. Actually, Fudge seemed to have his mind set on the fact that Riddle would do something stupid and get himself sent to Azkaban. And then the Minister would have a reason to remove Dumbledore from his position as well. Not that Riddle cared. But he didn't want to spend sixty years, or more, in prison.

**_You know, you should have thanked the old fool,_ **the irritating voice in his head said.

_Oh, can't you just shut up!_ Riddle exclaimed. He hated that voice. It always seemed to be right about everything, and he couldn't remember that it had been in his head when he had been Lord Voldemort.

"Hey, watch it!" The voice ripped Riddle back from his train of thoughts, and he stared into the eyes of Hermione Granger.

"You again!" Riddle snapped, and watched her pick up her books for the second time in two days. Running into her was getting to be a bad habit.

Hermione looked up from her book gathering and asked calmly, "You weren't in class today. Where were you?"

Riddle narrowed his eyes angrily. What in the world had his whereabouts to do with her?

"None of your business!" he hissed angrily, noticing that his angry voice didn't seem to have any effect on her.

"As you wish," Hermione shrugged and walked off.

Riddle moaned silently and rubbed his head. He really needed some headache medicine. Still rubbing his head, he turned and headed towards the Hospital Wing.

* * *

"Mr. Riddle," Madam Promfrey smiled when she saw him standing in the doorway, "What can I do for you?" 

"I've got a major headache. Is there something you can give me for it?" Riddle flung himself on one of the beds and looked hopefully at her.

"Yes, I'll get you something." She turned around, "Hermione, can you get Mr. Riddle here something for his headache?"

Hermione emerged from the office and smiled, "Of course. Come with me, Riddle."

Riddle stared.

_Her again! You got to be kidding_, Riddle thought, but he got up and followed her into the office.

"What are you doing here?" he asked as she handed him the vial.

She gave him a small smile before answering, "I'm working here. I wanted to learn more about healing."

She turned and found another vial as well. This one contained a green liquid that looked like it tasted horrible. Riddle wrinkled his nose and wished for the hundredth time that someone could make the medicine potions a bit more palatable. They normally tasted so bad that he wanted to throw up once he'd swallowed one of them.

Hermione handed him the vial with a questionable glint in her eyes. Though, she didn't ask him whatever it was that was on her mind. Instead, she explained what the second vial contained.

"Take this as well. It's a sleeping potion, combined with a headache potion. Take it before you go to bed, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll do that. Thanks," Riddle placed the vial in his pocket and left.

"You're welcome, Tom Riddle," Hermione whispered, and watched the former Dark Lord leave.

* * *


	13. Chapter 13

Title: Praeter erratum praeter

Disclaimer: I don't owe any of the characters you may recognise from Rowling's books. (to bad really)

Beta: kalathetrumpeter

Warning: Some of the characters will be OOC, especially Tom.If you don't like it, don't read the story...

Summary: A youth potion gives Riddle more trouble than he'd expected. First the Death Eaters refuse to take orders from a 16 year-old-boy and Lucius decides to take over, throwing Riddle out onto the streets. Then he ends up at Hogwarts. "Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance, Tom" Dumbledore asked.

* * *

A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed. Since there were only two of the, I just put the responds in the chapter this time.

BennaM: Thanks I'm glad you like the story.

Amy Lee: Uhm, where to start. Okay, first thank you for your honest review I really appreciated it. As for tasteful, I did look up that word in my dictionary, and I have a Beta who looks through every chapter before I post them, but thanks for letting me know. As for the story, well, it's kind of a mess at the moment. I'm fully aware that there are several things that should be fixed in the earlier chapters, and I'm working at it. The first chapters haven't even been Beta-ed yet, which is something they should have been. At the moment I'm considering removing the story and start from the beginning, but I guess that would be a stupid thing to do. Well, like I said. I'm glad you told me this, and I will try and fix the things you mentioned. I do tend to rush things a bit, I know that, but I don't know why I do it. Well, I'll be more careful about it in the future. I can't promise that this chapter is any better then the rest, but I just had to get it out of the way. Thanks again for your help.

* * *

Chapter 13 

Riddle was almost sorry when he woke up the next morning. It was a long time since he'd had a decent night's sleep, and the thought of facing the other students didn't actually help him to get up. But in the end, he got out of bed and slipped into the shower. Perhaps a cold shower would make him feel better.

Half an hour later, he slipped out from his room and headed down the stairs to get breakfast. As he entered the common room, he ran into Malfoy.

"Watch it Malfoy!" Riddle sneered angrily. He didn't like the Malfoy Heir more than he liked his father, which wasn't much. He had actually always loathed Lucius with passion. The blond was an arrogant, manipulating, and stuck up man, who truly believed that he was above everyone else in this world.He had always gotten on Riddle's nerves, and an hour in Lucius presence normally made Riddle want to kill him. But he couldn't do that either. And the man had his use, Riddle had to admit that. Too bad Lucius had turned against him.

"I was sure you were on your way to Azkaban," Malfoy said angrily.

Riddle raised an eyebrow, "You hoped, but no. I'm staying here for the next two years."

"Oh, I'm so glad!"

"I bet. Give my regards to Lucius. I think he'll be happy to know that I'm still alive," Riddle smirked, and left the room.

He made his way down to the Great Hall and took a seat at the Slytherin table. He ignored the glares he got from Harry and his friends and grabbed a couple of pieces of toast, and a glass of pumpkin juice.

Riddle hated to eat in the Great Hall. The other students normally made him feel like a picture, or something that was meant to be stared at.

* * *

"Very good, Mr. Riddle," Professor McGonagall said and watched Riddle turn the cat in front of him back into his desk. He was currently the only one who had managed to do so. The rest had managed to get something that looked like a desk with fur and an assortment of eyes, ears, tails, and whiskers. 

"It's not difficult when you've done it before," Malfoy hissed angrily. His desk was currently standing on three legs, and it was trying to lick a tail that didn't exist.

"Like I remember what I did in my sixth year, Malfoy," Riddle replied and turned the desk back into a black cat. He lifted the cat onto his lap and started petting it carefully as he watched the other students struggle with their assignments.

"Okay. Class is over for today. Everyone leave their eh…desks and cats behind. Homework for next week will be to master this transfiguration."

The class groaned in unison and collected their things before leaving.

* * *

The next two weeks went pretty well. He got good grades, he hadn't really expected anything else, and the teachers seemed to be less frightened around him, as did the students. As far as Riddle knew, Dumbledore hadn't gotten any complains from the parents, and Fudge hadn't been given any reason to send Riddle to Azkaban. Everything was slowly getting back to normal, and Tom Riddle was just another student at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.

* * *

"Today, we've going to be duelling," Remus announced as he came into the classroom. The students immediately started cheering and chatting exactly. 

The last time they had been duelling had been in their second year, when Gilderoy Lockhart had started a duelling club to teach the students how to fight. The idea had, of course, been a success, and the students had loved it, but when the teacher disappeared, the duelling club had done the same.

"Hopefully, this will go a bit better then the time Lockhart tried to teach us something," one of the Gryffindors said, and Remus smiled. He had heard the story about the incompetent teacher they'd had in their second year, and he was determined to make things better.

"Okay. I know you're exited, but please, calm down."

The quickly students re-found their places and shut their mouths.

"I'm going to pair you up two and two. Then we'll go through the basics. Rules, normal courtesy, allowed curses, and then we'll move onto the duelling. I want one Gryffindor and one Slytherin paired up. And no complaints!" he added as everyone started groaning.

Soon they were placed around the room, and Riddle was, much to his dislike, paired up with Hermione.

"This is going to be easy," he muttered to himself, and scowled at the mudblood in front of him.

First, they spent half an hour learning the rules of duelling, and everything else Remus thought was important. Riddle, on the other hand, was nearly bored to death.

He already knew everything there was to know about duelling, and he just wanted to get started. It had been a while since he had a proper duel. Too bad that he hadn't been paired up with Potter. Then they would finally have been able to see who was the best.

"…then, let's start duelling."

Riddle looked up and smiled. _Finally_, he thought.

"I want you to try and disarm your opponents, using the Disarming Spell. The ones who are being attacked are going to us the Shield Charm to stop the attack.Any questions? No? Then we'll begin. Slytherins, you'll attack first. Begin!"

Riddle and Hermione bowed to each other and moved into duelling position, wands raised above their heads. Riddle smirked, "_Expelliarmus!_" The curse hit Hermione's shield hard, and she struggled for a moment to keep still on her feet.

Riddle saw the anger rise in her eyes, and he was ready as she called out, "_Expelliarmus!_"

"_Protego_!" the shield came up in front of him, and the curse hit it hard with out making any damage.

Riddle nodded in approval. The girl was powerful indeed. Not that she would be any match for him, but she had the potential to make a really powerful witch.

He raised his arm to launch another attack at her, but before he was able to utter the words a loud bang behind him made him spin around.

The sight that met him was nearly enough to make him laugh out loud.Neville Longbottom and Gregory Goyle were lying on the floor, covered by a large shelf. Around them, books were lying scattered, and it was clearly something had gone utterly wrong.

Remus was the first one to reach the two boys. He levitated the shelf away from the bodies and knelt down to examine them. The students quickly formed a circle around him, and Hermione knelt down beside him.

"We need to get them to the Hospital Wing," Remus said to Hermione, who nodded in agreement. Together they conjured up two stretchers, and placed Neville and Gregory on them.

"Okay, I'm going to get Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Goyle to the Hospital Wing, and I don't want any duelling while I'm gone! Understood?" Remus looked at Harry and Malfoy as he said those words. The two of them was known to end up duelling in the hallways between classes.

The students all nodded, and Remus gave them one last look before he followed Hermione out the door.

As soon as the door closed behind them, the students immediately started chattering about Neville's accident.

"How the hell did that coward end up in Gryffindor? He's a wandering accident! " Riddle asked with a sneer, and Harry turned around angrily.

"He's ten times better than you!" he snapped angrily, and approached Riddle, wand in hand.

The rest of the students stopped talking and watched the two rivals. They could all feel the tension between the two boys, and it had only been a question of time before one of them would try and attack the other one.

"Yeah?" Riddle asked, and raised an eyebrow sceptically.

"Get up!" Harry suddenly snapped, and turned towards the duelling stage. He stepped onto it and turned towards Riddle, "Are you coming, or not?" he asked impatiently.

Riddle looked at him, confused, but stepped up onto the duelling stage. What was the stupid brat up to now?

The answer came quickly as Harry turned towards the students.

"I'm going to show you, once and for all, that you have nothing to fear from Voldemort. He's nothing more than a common student, like the rest of you. Ready, Riddle?"

The students looked at each other, wondering what the outcome of the duel would be. Some seemed like they wanted to protest, or go for help, but no one said a word, or made a move to leave. They were all to worried about getting hexed. The Slytherins, on the other hand, were quite eager to see the outcome of the fight.

Riddle didn't like Harry's words, but he grinned and nodded. The duel was just what he needed to prove that he was still the best.

Malfoy stepped up between the two rivals and raised his wand

"Wands ready?"

Both wizards raised their wands and waited for the start signal.

"Okay, legal curses only! No attempts to use the Cruciatus Curse, and no killing attempts! Understood?"

"Yes," Riddle answered, and Harry nodded.

"Good. Begin!" Malfoy lowered his wand and jumped out of reach as the hexes started flying.

Harry was the first one to call out, "_Impedimenta_!"

Riddle waved his wand fast muttering, "_Protego_!" Then he shouted, "_Suboles telumo_!(1)"

Arrows emerged from Riddle's wand and flew towards Harry, who quickly said, "_Protego_!" bringing a shield up in front of him.

"_Inflatus_!(2)" Riddle sneered, and watched with satisfaction as Harry flew several meters backward.

Harry was quickly back up on his feet and pointed his wand a Riddle.

"_Stupefy_!"

"_Protego_! _Petrificus Totalus_!"

"_Locomotor Mortis_!" the curse hit Riddle before he had the chance to dodge it, and he fell to the floor in a heap.

Before Harry got the chance to finish the duel, Riddle hissed out the same curse Malfoy had used in his second year, "_Serpensortia_! _Engorgio_!"

A black snake landed in front of Harry, taking the Gryffindor's attention away from Riddle for the moment. As Riddle's second charm hit it, the snake swelled up in size, getting three times bigger. It now was the same size as Harry, and the Gryffindor had gotten several shades paler.

"_Finite Incantatem_!" Riddle said and got to his feet just as Harry blasted the snake.

Then Harry pointed his wand at Riddle again, "_Morsuso_!(3)"

Riddle felt a stinging pain that started spreading through his body, and he pointed his wand at Harry, "_Incarcerous_!" Thick ropes flew out of his wand, and Harry barley managed to dodge them.

Before Harry was able to get to his senses Riddle opened his mouth to finish the duel, "_Petrificus To_ -" he was cut of by the sound of the door being slammed open.

Professor Lupin came running into the room. He took a quick look at the two students on the duelling stage and shouted, "_Expelliarmus_!"

Both Riddle's and Harry's wand flew out of their hands and landed in Remus'.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU TWO THINK YOUR DOING!" he roared, making everyone in the room jump.

"Well, we…" Harry began, but he trailed off staring down.

"Twenty points from both Gryffindor and Slytherin for disobeying my instructions."

Remus looked around the room, and the students looked down in shame, "You're all dismissed. Except Harry and Tom, you two are going to explain this for the Headmaster!"

"What?" Riddle exclaimed. The last thing he wanted was to have another talk with the Headmaster. Plus, he was pretty sure that this was one of the things that the old man wouldn't take too kindly on.It was more likely that he would be angry, if the old fool was capable of that feeling.

"Get going!" Remus said, and beckoned for the two boys to follow him upstairs.

"This is your fault!" Riddle hissed angrily as they walked behind Remus.

Harry turned and looked at him, surprised.

"Mine? You're the one who showed up here in the first place!" Harry shoot back.

"Don't start fighting again, you two!" Remus said.

They walked in silence for a couple of minutes. Harry and Riddle exchange hateful glares every now and then, but neither of them said anything.

"Chocolate Frog," Remus said as they reached the gargoyle. The gargoyle gave a small nod, turned around, and revealed the staircase.

The Professor turned to the two teenagers and pointed at the staircase, "Up!"

The two boys scowled at each other before they stepped onto the stairs and walked up.

Remus knocked on the door and went in as he heard Dumbledore say, "Come in."

"Professor Lupin, Mr. Potter and Mr. Riddle, what do I owe this pleasure?" The Headmaster asked and motioned for them to take a seat.

Remus stepped up to Dumbledore's desk, and explained, "Mr. Longbottom had an accident when we were duelling, and I had to take both him and Mr. Goyle to the Hospital Wing. While I was gone those two," here he sighed, and pointed to Riddle and Harry, "decided to see who's the strongest wizard, even if I'd told them not to duel while I was gone. So can you talk to them, because they don't seem to be listening to me."

"Tom? Harry?"

"What?" Riddle asked, "You didn't think we would go through two years of school with out trying to kill each other?"

"I was hoping," Dumbledore sighed.

Riddle crossed his arm over his chest and sneered, "Happy dreams!"

"He killed my parents!" Harry snapped. He had been pretty quiet since they had walked into the room, but now the anger was clearly visible in his eyes.

"They deserved it," Riddle retorted with a smirk.

"How come?" Harry demanded. He ignored the Headmaster and the professor and concentrated on the killer in front of him.

"They went against me!" Riddle exclaimed, as thought it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Harry's face darkened with anger, "_They went against you_! Listen to yourself!"

"If it hadn't been for that, then you would have been just another regular boy, and I would have won this war. So, I guess you could say I'm regretting trying to kill you!" Riddle hissed.

"Amazing, I didn't think you had any feelings!"

Riddle shrugged. Of course, he had feelings, he just ignored them most of the time, but that didn't mean that they weren't a part of him.

"One of the downsides effects of the youth potion," he said smoothly.

"I do apologise for not feeling sorry for you," Harry smirked.

"At least I don't walk around thinking that everyone's death is my fault!"

Harry frowned angrily. That comment had obviously hit a nerve.

"At least I had someone who cared for me!" he sneered at Riddle, knowing the comment would hurt Riddle.

But he was wrong. Riddle only laughed. A warm laughter, unlike the high cold laughter Lord Voldemort had. The laughter seemed so real. So unlike something you would have expected from Lord Voldemort.

Riddle stopped laughing and eyed Harry with a hint of amusement in his green eyes.

"And how do you know your parents cared for you? You can't even remember them? And your aunt and uncle surely weren't too kind."

Harry was quite ready to strangle Riddle for that comment, and he clenched his fist, trying very hard not to attack Riddle.

"Well, they didn't leave me at an orphanage for one, second, I've got my friends, which is more than you ever had, a godfather. Not to mention that Ron's family care's for me as if I was a part of their family."

"Love makes you weak," was Riddle's only reply.

Harry opened his mouth to answer, but Dumbledore cut him off. His blue eyes were twinkling like mad, which irritated Riddle, and made Harry's face turn a darker shade of red.

"That's enough, you two. Remus follow Harry to Gryffindor tower, I'll talk to him later. Tom, I want to talk to you now."

"Of course Headmaster," Remus said, "But you both have a weeks' detention. Starting tomorrow. Tom, Harry, show up at my office at seven p.m."

The door closed behind Remus and Harry, leaving Dumbledore and Riddle to themselves.

* * *

**IMPORTANT! READ THIS!**

A/N: My real life has caught up with me at last, and I've got far too much to do at the moment, so I'll most likely disappear for a while. But, I will come back in a month or so. And I will be doing some corrections in the earlier chapters. To make the whole thing a bit more realistic, if that's possible. Well, I hope you all understand this, and that you're not mad at me. I promise I will return.

Okay, here's an explanation for the spells. I got them all from the HP lexicon, but some of them was without an incantation, so I used a dictionary to make them up.

(1) The spell that shoots arrows out of a wand, _suboles telumo_, comes from the two Latin words for shoot (suboles) and arrow (telumo).

(2) Blasting curse, _Inflatus_, comes from the Latin word for blast (inflatus).

(3) The stinging hex, _Morsuso_. A fairly low-powered hex, which causes a stinging pain in the victim. Morsuso, comes from the Latin word for sting (morsus).

P.S You can always find information, hints, and things in my LiveJournal. Just go to my bio and hit the homepage link.


	14. chapter 14

Title: Praeter erratum praeter

Disclaimer: I don't owe any of the characters you may recognise from Rowling's books. (to bad really)

Beta: kalathetrumpeter

Warning: Some of the characters will be OOC, especially Tom. If you don't like it, don't read the story...

Summary: A youth potion gives Riddle more trouble than he'd expected. First the Death Eaters refuse to take orders from a 16 year-old-boy and Lucius decides to take over, throwing Riddle out onto the streets. Then he ends up at Hogwarts. "Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance, Tom?" Dumbledore asked.

* * *

A/N: I know, I know, I said on month or so, but blame my teachers not me. Anyway, here's chapter 14. It's really, really short; don't hate me because of it. 

I've decided to take a break from the writing. I'm still trying to re-write the beginning, and it's a bit disturbing to be writing on the story from both ends. And I'm not even sure if the plot will turn out to be the same, so I want to take a break to re-write everything and then I'll see how things turn out.

I hate to do this, because I know how irritating it is when authors abandon their fics, but I can't help it. I can't seem to find the will to write anymore, and I hope a break will give me some inspiration. I hope you all understand. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, you're the best, and to those who reads the story but doesn't review, thanks for reading. I've got 80 review, which is more than I ever hoped for when I first started writing .

I hope you don't kill me for skipping the review responds. Thanks again to those who reviewed.

* * *

Chapter 14 

"Take a seat, Tom," Dumbledore said, and Riddle sat down.

"Who won?" The question caught Riddle by surprise. He had expected him to start on a long boring and complicated speech about not attacking other students, unless he wanted to have another chat with Fudge.

"I did, or I would have, if Lupin hadn't come barging in."

"And whose idea was it?"

"Potter's

Dumbledore sighed, as he seemed to be doing a lot lately.

Riddle wanted to say something he might end up regretting, but he kept his mouth shut for once and waited for Dumbledore to continue. He wanted to get out of the office, and the best way to make that happen would be to sit still and have some patience for once.

Dumbledore seemed to consider what to say next before he opened his mouth again, "Where is your wand now?"

"Ah, you mean that crappy piece of wood you got me because I don't know where my own is?" Riddle asked.

The resigned look on Dumbledore's face lightened Riddle's mood a bit. He always loved it when he got on the old mans nerves.

"Yes, that one."

"Lupin got it," Riddle shrugged, not really caring.

He missed his own wand. But he didn't know where his own wand was, even if it was stil in one piece. Riddle shuddered. That wasn't a pleasant thought, and he shoved it out of his mind.

"Well, I'm going to speak with Fudge. Perhaps I can get him to calm down. And Mr. Riddle," Dumbledore looked sternly at him, "You understand that this can not happen again.

"Can I go?" Riddle asked and got up from the chair.

"Yes, but you'll have to pick up your wand. And don't forget that you've got detention tomorrow."

"I won't," Riddle muttered and left.

He walked down the stairs towards the Great Hall, not really noticing where he was going. He wasn't hungry, just tired. Tired of living, tired of being blamed for every damned thing that went wrong. Not to mention he was tired of the school. He had already been through seven years of schooling and that was more than enough.

Instead of going to the Great Hall for dinner, Riddle walked outside, only stopping briefly by his own room to pick up a black cloak.

The air was cold and clear, and the sun was shining brightly down at him. It was a perfect autumn day. The threes were starting to turn into different shades of red, brown, yellow and orange, and the cold wind that swept over the grounds told Riddle that the winter was getting close. The school ground was empty, not a student in sight,.

He needed to think, and the best place to make sure he wouldn't be disturbed would be on the top of one of the towers. He'd spent a lot of time there during his own school days. He borrowed a broom from the broom shack and mounted it. It had been ages since he'd last rode a broom, and he wasn't even sure he remembered how to fly it.

He rose cautiously from the ground and into the air. Gradually, he began going faster and faster, until his eyes filled with tears from the cold wind. The feeling was astounding, though he had never really enjoyed flying, he was now thrilled by seeing everything rush past at an incredible speed.

He landed on the top of the north tower and walked over to the edge. There he sat down and stared down at the school ground.

The view was indescribable. He could see the whole school ground as well as the Quidditch field. The Forbidden Forest loomed in the distant, dark and foreboding. He knew it contained dark creature as well as good ones, like the unicorns and the centaurs. On the other side he could see the blue lake, glittering in the sunlight. The water look tempting, but everyone knew that it was freezing cold.

The cold wind blew his hair into his face, and he shoved it out of the way.

He needed to do some serious thinking. First of all, he needed a plan to get out of the blasted school. Then he could start plotting revenge on Lucius. He could, of course, fly away right now, but he needed his wand before he did anything like that. And he was pretty sure Dumbledore had some kind of charm on him, to alert the old man if he left the school grounds. So he needed to get the Headmaster to remove the spell. The best time to disappear would be during a Hogsmeade weekend. It was easier to vanish there, not to mention that actually could Apparate from the village.

Then he only needed to figure out was how to get permission to go to Hogsmeade. That would need some more thinking and manipulation. In short, he needed to get the teachers to trust him, which would be a problem. Once he got out he could always Apparate to Riddle Manor and start planning his revenge there.

Riddle sighed and closed his eyes. He had been feeling strange ever since he'd taken the potion nearly two months ago. His mood was constantly swinging, and he was feeling things he hadn't been feeling for a long time. Riddle knew that the emotions were a side effect from the potion, but he hadn't expected them to be this strong. Sometimes he actually had problem controlling them, and he would break out in a fit of rage. He had lost count of how many times he'd slammed one of the schoolbooks into the wall.

Normally he was pretty good at hiding what he was feeling, but it had been so long since he'd had to do that. It had been quite simple when he was Lord Voldemort. The only two feelings he had to concentrate on then were hate and anger, and he had gotten used to them. Now he suddenly had ten other feelings that he couldn't control. He knew he hadn't been himself since he'd drank the potion, and he was getting a nasty feeling that it would be a long time before he was back to normal.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I warned you. It was short, and boring.

As always, I will post comments about how the re-writing is going in my Live Journal, so drop by if you want to know how things are developing. The link is in my BIO.

P-oenix


	15. Chapter 15

Title: Praeter erratum praeter

Disclaimer: I don't owe any of the characters you may recognise from Rowling's books. (to bad really)

Beta: un-betaed for the moment.

Warning: Some of the characters will be OOC, especially Tom.If you don't like it, don't read the story...

Summary: AU! A youth potion gives Riddle more trouble than he'd expected. First the Death Eaters refuse to take orders from a 16 year-old-boy and Lucius decides to take over, throwing Riddle out onto the streets. Then he ends up at Hogwarts. "Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance, Tom" Dumbledore asked.

A/N: An update! It's a miracle. Actually it is. You can all thank _Riuet_ for it. I was nagging her to update her story, and I realised that I should try and update my own story, although it's childish and stupid. I'm working on a new one, which hopefully will be better than this one.

It hasn't been Betaed, so I'm sorry for all the mistakes.

* * *

Chapter 15 

The sky had held a nearly black colour, and the stars were shining brightly down at the old castle, before Riddle realized he perhaps should get inside. He had been out on the roof for nearly three hours already. Time had strange habit of moving way to fast when you were thinking.

The thought of moving wasn't tempting to say the least. There was something strangely calming about the darkness. It wraped around you like a comfortable and gentle carpet, sometimes it brushed against your skin too reminding you of its existence. The darkness held many secrets, and it was the protector of many creatures.

Riddle had always enjoyed the dark nights. There was something seditious about it, something that drew people to it. Inviting them to explore its secrets.

Those who were afraid of the darkness were often those who were afraid of what they didn't know. That, or they had been told to many stories about murders that lurked in the shadows, waiting to throw themselves at an unexpected victim.

Yes, the darkness knew how to seduce people, but Riddle also knew how treacherous it could be. The darkness didn't care for anyone. But it was soothing to just sit there, letting it surround you and calm you.

Riddle knew that he needed to gain the teachers' trust in order to have a chance of getting out of the school. He hadn't been able to come up with a plan yet, but that was just a matter of time. To stop fighting with the Potter kid would properly be the best thing to start with. The teachers seemed to adore the brat, and he would properly have a better chance to get onto their good side if he stopped mocking the Gryffindor. Perhaps he should play nice for a while. After all, his charms had always been good when it came to fooling grown-ups, surely he couldn't have lost that talent.

He pushed his hand through his hair in frustration. The whole situation was annoying. And the invariable change of feelings was helping much.

Slowly he got to his feet and stretched. His muscles had gotten stiff and sore from sitting in the same position for so long. He rubbed his neck absently as he looked over the edge and down at the ground way below him. A jump from this high would kill anyone who tried, wizard or muggle. Riddle shrugged and turned around to pick up the broom. He had never been a fan of suicide. Instead he mounted the broom and allowed it to guide him slowly down to the grounds.

He landed gracefully on the grass by the broom shack and made his way up to the castle after putting the broom back where it belonged.

The old castle was an impressive sight where it loomed above him in the dark. Light was purring out from nearly every window, and Riddle couldn't stop the smile that slowly spread across his face. Hogwarts had always been his refuge place. The only thing that had bothered him about the school was the rule that said he had to return to the orphanage every summer for the holiday. His lips curled in dislike as the memory of the pitiful place came back. God, he hated memories, though, not as much as he hated the muggles that had been in charge of the place he had grew up, and his father. Riddle shuddered and pushed the memories about his so-called father away. There was no need to start thinking about that now.

He walked into the Entrance Hall just in time for the evening meal. The students were all gathered in the Great Hall, talking and chatting with each other as they ate. Riddle closed his eyes for a moment and allowed himself to drift back to the 1940s. The sounds of the students were still the same, but no one greeted him as he slid into a seat by the Slytherin table. In stead they scowled angry at him, making it clear that he wasn't welcome among them, which they had made perfectly clear during the last month. Riddle was reminded just how long the Slytherins could hold their grudges. He had expected them to at least ignore him by now, but no. The hate was still fresh, and by the look of things it would stay that way for a long time.

He finished the meal quickly and headed for his room. He could always start his little plan by doing the homework for next day, even though he knew everything there were to know already.

As he entered the common room he once again came across the little Malfoy brat. He was sitting on the couch by the fire, reading, and he was currently the only student there, except from Riddle.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Malfoy sneered and Riddle sighed in annoyance.

"Honestly, Malfoy. Grow up. Is it not enough that your father is a childish excuse of a wizard? Do you really have to follow in his footsteps?"

"You damned…" Malfoy started taking a threatening step towards Riddle, who only smiled in response.

"I still don't get it," Riddle said thoughtful, "What is it that you have against me? I haven't done anything to you. The only reason you dislike me is because your father told you to. I've never done anything to you. We even have the same enemy. We both hate the Potter brat."

Malfoy opened his moth to speak, but then he closed it again.

Riddle smiled to himself and took a step towards Malfoy.

"Listen, Malfoy. I'm still one of the most powerful wizards in the world. Wouldn't it be better if we joined forces against Potter? Two are always better than one." His voice was soft and tempting. He could see that Malfoy was considering his words.

He needed Malfoy to take his offer. It would be so much easier if he didn't have to worry about his own house being against him.

Malfoy looked at him inquiringly, "You'll help me against Potter?"

Riddle nodded.

"And what do you get out of it?"

_Slytherin spirit_, Riddle thought. It was all about power and who got what out of every deal.

"You get the rest of you're gang to lay of me."

"You want us to accept you as a Slytherin in return for helping me?"

A nod confirmed Malfoy's thoughts.

It was easy to see that Malfoy was considering Riddle's proposition, and Riddle was almost sure he would accept it. After all, it would give Malfoy the upper hand, and Riddle would finally get some peace.

"Fine," Malfoy suddenly said and nodded his head in approval, "You've got a deal".

Riddle smirked and nodded. The brat didn't trust him, but at lest he wouldn't have to worry about him anymore. He didn't need the boy's trust, just his status as the ringleader.

Not to mention the Slytherin rules that said that there were to be no arguing among housemates outside the common room.

Riddle moved towards the stairs, but as he put one foot on the stair he stopped and turned around, "And, Malfoy, I wouldn't mention this to your dad if I were you."

Malfoy understood the double meaning. Not only would Lucius be pissed off if he ever heard about the deal, but Riddle would surely make him regret it.


	16. Chapter 16

Title: Praeter erratum praeter

Disclaimer: I don't owe any of the characters you may recognise from Rowling's books. (to bad really)

Beta: un-betaed for the moment.

Warning: Some of the characters will be OOC, especially Tom.If you don't like it, don't read the story...

Summary: AU! A youth potion gives Riddle more trouble than he'd expected. First the Death Eaters refuse to take orders from a 16 year-old-boy and Lucius decides to take over, throwing Riddle out onto the streets. Then he ends up at Hogwarts. "Doesn't everyone deserve a second chance, Tom" Dumbledore asked. 

**A/N: I sat down yesterday and decided to write another chapter. It got a bit long. 16 pages, but I think that would be appropriate seeing as I haven updated since July. Thank you all for your amazing reviews. Thank you so much :)**

* * *

Chapter 16 

"I suggest that you don't do that, unless you want to blow up the whole thing." Riddle said and yawned as he watched Malfoy raise his hand to put belladonna into his boiling cauldron.

It had been three months since they had agreed to stop trying to tear each other's throats out, and things had been going rather well after that. The Slytherins left Riddle alone on Malfoy's command, and together the two of them had been able to make Potter's life a living hell.

Malfoy sighed irritated and lowered his arm. "What then? This is the third time I try to make the stupid potion, and it still hasn't got the right colour!" His voice was getting more and more annoyed, and Riddle sighed.

He had been helping Malfoy with his homework the last couple of weeks, since the young Malfoy Heir was having a bit of trouble with his potion homework. It was currently Wednesday night, or Thursday morning, depending on one's view. The clock had just passed two a.m, and Riddle wanted more than anything to go to bed.

"Add two spoons of asphodel and stir it four times clockwise," Riddle said as he covered up another yawn.

Malfoy did as he said, and soon the potion assumed the right purple colour.

"There you go," Riddle muttered and put his hands on the table and laid his head down on his arms.

"You aren't going to sleep down here again I hope?" Malfoy asked with an amused voice.

"Why not?"

"Remember how bad you felt last time you tried?"

Riddle winced and got up. "Point taken," he said and headed for the stairs.

Just as he put his foot on the first step he heard a loud bang behind him and he spun around. Where Malfoy's cauldron had been standing there now was an oddly shaped heap of tin, and Malfoy himself looked like he just had come head first down through the fireplace. His normally white-blond hair was black, along with his face and chest.

"Oh, yeah," Riddle said. "I forgot to mention that if you allow the potion to boil too long, it will explode."

"RIDDLE!" Malfoy roared, but the Slytherin Heir had already disappeared up the stairs with a laugh.

* * *

"Riddle!" 

The female voice made both Riddle and Malfoy turn around from the entrance doors they were headed for.

"Yes, dear?" Riddle said smoothly as he realised that the voice belonged to Hermione Granger.

"Don't give me that," she snapped irritated. "I saved your life after all!"

Malfoy raised an eyebrow at Riddle, who only glared in return.

She just had to remind him about the fact that he owed her his life every time they bumped into each other. His anger started to rise and he wanted nothing more than hexing her into next week.

"What to you want, mudblood?" Malfoy asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Nothing important, ferret." She smiled as Malfoy flinched at the memory, which made Riddle look at him with a strange look. "I was told to tell Riddle to come to the Headmasters office."

"Now?" Riddle asked, not looked especially happy about the news.

"Yes." She turned and disappeared before Riddle or Malfoy could say anything else.

Riddle stared at Malfoy who stared back.

"Ferret?"

"She saved your life?"

The both stared, but neither was willing to give out any information.

"Shall we just drop it?" Riddle finally asked.

"I think so," Malfoy nodded and looked towards the stairs. A small smile started spreading across his face, and Riddle followed his look and noticed the Golden Trio, who where standing in the middle of the stairs. Hermione was telling Harry and the Weasley kid something, and they both looked up and glared at the two Slytherins.

"If looks could kill," Riddle muttered.

"Who do you think he would kill first?" Malfoy asked with a laugh.

Riddle smirked. "Me. After all, I killed his parents."

The look he got from Harry was anything else than pleasant, but after nearly four months of being around the boy he was getting used to it. Luckily it seemed like the rest of the school had been able to forgive and forget, at least for the time being.

"Well, I'll go and see what the old fool wants now. I'll see you later." Riddle sighed and walked past the Trio and up the stairs.

* * *

"Sit down, Tom." Dumbledore smiled and waved a hand at the empty chair in front of him. 

While sitting down in the chair, Riddle wondered what he'd done wrong now. He couldn't remember doing anything he shouldn't, except from tormenting the Potter kid, but that couldn't count.

"I haven't done anything," Riddle said defensively.

"I know." Dumbledore smiled. "I wanted to tell you that you've got permission to go to Hogsmed this weekend."

Riddle's eyes suddenly lightened up. "Really?" That was good news.

"Yes, although I hope I don't have to remind you not do anything stupid?" He looked at him over the half-moon glasses and Riddle nodded slowly.

"Good."

"Can I go?" Riddle got up from the chair as Dumbledore nodded.

* * *

"Again, how did you persuade the old man to let you go to Hogsmeed?" Malfoy asked as he led the way towards The Three Broomsticks. 

"I didn't," Riddle admitted honestly. "I guess he expects me to return."

"Well, seeing as you have nowhere to go, you will return," Malfoy said and opened the door to the pub.

Riddle tilted his head to the side and smiled. Yeah, the young Slytherin was right. He had to return.

"Are you coming?" Malfoy asked, holding the door open.

Riddle nodded and followed him into the pub. Life wasn't that bad anymore. Draco was a fun person to be around. Especially since they both loved to torment the Boy-Who-Lived.

The thoughts and plans he'd made months earlier had kind of disappeared out the window. It was a relief to able to just go with the flow and don't having to worry about anything. Lucius had been busy the last couple of weeks, and the Daily Prophet had been filled with horrifying stories nearly every day. The other students, of course, hadn't left Draco, alone. They had been after him, almost accusing him of what his father was up to. Luckily for Draco the Slytherins stuck together, and he had somehow survived the mocking and nasty looks the other students was giving him.

Riddle quickly noticed that the students were ignoring him now, in favour of taking their anger out on Draco instead. Draco had been taking the mocking well, although Riddle knew he was hurting and Riddle hated Lucius even for hurting his own son.

"Heard anything from your father lately?" Riddle asked as they sat down by a table in the back of the pub.

Malfoy shock his head and looked down.

Riddle tilted his head. It seemed like the tropic of his father still was a bit of a sore issue for Draco. If it was one thing Riddle had come to understand during the time he'd been at Hogwarts, it was that Draco wasn't a Death Eater. And he didn't have it in him to become one either. The boy would never follow in his father's footsteps, and therefore Riddle had no reason to believe that Draco agreed with what his father was doing.

Personally Riddle felt a small admiration for Lucius. The man had followed Riddle's own plans. Creating chaos in the Wizarding World, recruiting new Death Eaters and preparing for the final battle. The only thing that bothered him was that Lucius had turned against him, and he still wanted his own revenge on the man for that. There was no way he would sit back and allow Lucius to conquer the light and take over as the leader of the Wizarding World.

"This is only the beginning, you know," Riddle said slowly.

Malfoy's head snapped up and he frowned in confusion before nodding. "I know," he said slowly. "It will only get worse."

Riddle nodded.

"Do you think the Ministry will stand?" Malfoy asked.

Riddle sighed. That was the question wasn't it? If the Ministry fell, then the rest would fall like domino bricks. If the Ministry were able to resist then they would only delay the unavoidable.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "I've been working on a plan to bring down the Ministry for years, but I haven't found a way yet. Perhaps your father has succeeded where I failed, although I doubt it."

Malfoy rubbed his eyes. "I just want this bloody war to be over. Although I might agree with my father on some point, like denying the mudbloods access to the school, I don't agree with all this killing."

Riddle mentally smiled. Merlin, the boy was naïve. How did he think they would reach their goal if not through a war?

"Sometimes killing is necessary to achieve results," he said slowly.

Malfoy shook his head. "No. What the Death Eaters are doing, what you were doing, want help him reach his goal. That was just plain pointless killing for the sake of entertainment."

Riddle grimaced. Perhaps the boy had a point. The Death Eaters had killed many innocents who wouldn't have affect the war either way. The Death Eaters were vile men, who enjoyed torture and violence too much.

"Lets change the tropic," he suggested. He wasn't all to eager to discuss his past with Draco. "At least there are taking their anger out on you know, instead of me."

Draco grimaced and looked at him darkly. "Yeah, and I'm sure you are feeling very sorry for me as well.

Riddle smiled. "Of course."

"Jerk," Draco muttered, and Riddle laughed.

The both looked up as the door burst open and the Head Boy came running in.

"All students back to the castle immediately!" he shouted.

"What in the world?" Malfoy said confused, but he got up from his chair.

"What's going on?" someone in the pub shouted.

Riddle too looked at the Head Boy in confusion. The boy was pale and he looked like he was on the edge of fainting.

"Death Eaters!" the boy said and waved his hand. "They're attacking the village! We need to get back to the castle at once!"

"You got to be kidding," Malfoy muttered and looked disbelieving at Riddle, who seemed shocked as well.

What in the world was Lucius expecting to gain from attacking the village? He would archive nothing from such an act. Unless -. Riddle looked at Malfoy.

"Get back to the castle, Draco," he said. "I don't believe the Death Eaters will harm you in anyway, but better safe than sorry."

Malfoy looked like he was going to protest, but then he nodded. "What are you going to do?"

Riddle smiled bitterly. "Nothing stupid. I just have to check something."

He got up from the chair and made his way to the door. The students were already running as fast as they could towards the castle, and Riddle had to press his back to the wall outside to avoid being run down.

"Be careful," Malfoy said as he took of running towards the castle.

Riddle nodded even though Malfoy was long gone. Carefully he made his way down the main street, while making sure he was out of sight to any possible attackers. Shouting and the sound of hexes being thrown drew him towards on of the alleys.

A girl and a boy were running for their life with three Death Eaters on their tail. The girl stumbled and fell, but the boy didn't noticed and continued running.

Riddle swore as he recognised the boy as Ron. That would mean that girl had to be Hermione. He's thoughts were proven right as the girl looked away from the approaching Death Eaters and meet his gaze. Her eyes were pleading and he swore again.

He couldn't leave her to herself. He owed her a life debt for saving his life so many months ago.

Quickly he stepped out from his hiding place and ran over to her. He grabbed her arm roughly and hauled her to her feet. She stumbled and cried out in pain. He nearly lost his grip on her arm as she tumbled to the ground, but instead he followed her down and gently placed her back on the down.

The Death Eaters had stopped and was now eying the two teenagers with a suspicious look.

"Give me your wand," Riddle hissed and kept a close watch on the Death Eaters.

"What?" she asked looking disbelieving.

Riddle sighed. He really didn't have time to explain everything to her. "I wasn't allowed to bring my own. Now, give me yours!"

She didn't look reassured, but at least she didn't protest.

"Isn't that just cute," one of the Death Eaters said in a mocking voice. "Potter has come to rescue his girlfriend.

_Potter_? Riddle thought confused and turned his head. Behind him he could see Potter standing in the middle of the street aiming his wand at the three Death Eaters.

_You got to be kidding_, Riddle groaned. Why couldn't the stupid brat stay away for once?

"No!" He heard Hermione whisper beside him.

"Let them go!" Potter demanded and Riddle rolled his eyes. Yeah, like that was going to work. How naïve was the boy really?

"Get out of her, Potter!" he hissed angry.

Potter shook his head. "Not with out Hermione."

"How sweet!" the Death Eater who had spoken before said in the same mocking voice.

Riddle groaned.

"So," one of the other two Death Eaters said, "who wants to die first?"

Riddle turned around and looked at them. He suddenly recognised the man who had spoken as Avery. While the man wasn't the smartest person in the world he still could kill them.

"_Protego_!" he whispered and cast a shield charm around himself and Hermione.

Behind him he heard Potter shout exspelliarmus.

The Death Eaters quickly deflected the curse and raised their own wands.

"_Crucio_!"

Potter was somehow able to throw himself out of the way and behind a corner, while Riddle and Hermione was still kneeling in the middle of the street. The curse missed all three of them and hit one of the buildings, setting it on fire.

Hermione clutched his arm tightly and a look at her face told him that she was terrified.

Avery seemed to be ignoring Potter at the moment and turned his eyes towards the couple on the ground.

"Well, well, what have we here?"

Riddle decided that it would be best not to answer. He wasn't sure they would recognise him, but if they did, hell would break loose. He silently strengthened the shield around them and waited. Sometimes patience was the best defence. If he was lucky the Death Eaters would decided they wasn't worth the trouble and they would get out of it unharmed.

"Looks like Potter has gotten competition," the Death Eater on Avery's right side said and stepped towards Riddle and Hermione.

Riddle recognised the voice as Antonin Dolohov. Great. While Avery was weak and pathetic, Dolohov was violent and dangerous.

The third Death Eater, who Riddle didn't know walked behind them so that they were completely surrounded.

Riddle couldn't hear or see Potter anymore, and he prayed that the boy would have enough sense to run back to the castle.

"_Expelliarmus_!" Dolohov said. The hex hit the shield and bounced off. The man frowned and raised his wand again.

"_Morsuso_!" Riddle whispered and smiled satisfied as the man winced in pain. It wasn't the most powerful curse, but at least it showed he wasn't completely helpless.

"You little –" Avery swore and raised his wand.

"_Crucio_!" The curse hit Avery in the chest and the man fell to the ground in agony.

Riddle released the curse almost immediately. He couldn't find the strength to hold it anymore. The potion had weakened his powers and it took a great deal of strength and power to hold someone under the Cruciatus Curse for more than a few seconds.

_Damn_, he thought and waited for the other two too comprehend what just had happened. They couldn't believe that a student just had used one of the unforgivable curses on them.

Riddle took the advantage of the momentary confusion and pointed his wand at the nameless man. "_Incarcerous_!"

Thick ropes flew from his wand and bound the man tightly, but before Riddle could turn his wand towards Dolohov he felt a sharp pain in his back. The pain increased and made him groan in pain and loose his grip on the wand.

"_Accio wand_!" Avery gasped as he got to his feet, and Riddle swore as he watched Hermione's wand disappear out of reach.

"You little, insolent brat!" Avery yelled and raised his wand.

Hermione huddled close to him and turned her face towards his chest as Avery stepped closer. Riddle grimaced, but he didn't push her away.

"Who do you think you playing with!" Dolohov asked harshly and grabbed Riddle by the arm and hauled him to his feet. Hermione was left huddled on the ground with a terrified look on her face.

"A gang of idiots," Riddle spat and tried to pull his arm free. "Attacking students? Haven't you got anything better to do with your time?"

Avery looked ready to kill, and that would probably have been the outcome if it hadn't been for the arrival of several teachers along with Dumbledore.

The Death Eaters took one look at the teachers and fled.

"Oh, my God!" He heard on of the teachers exclaim, but he ignored them.

He picked up Hermione's wand, which Avery had left on the ground and turned around to face the teachers. Several of them were busy trying to put out the burning building while others spread out to make sure there wasn't more Death Eaters around.

"Are you all right?" Dumbledore asked.

Riddle nodded and walked over to Hermione. He bent down and ignored the surprised looks on the teachers' faces as he helped her to her feet and gave her back her wand.

"Thanks," she whispered and leaned on him as she limped over to Dumbledore.

"You're welcome," he muttered before turning his attention to Dumbledore. "I hope you've got a port key, because she isn't going to be able to limp all the way to the castle."

He hated the twinkles in the old mans eyes, and decided to ignore them for the time being.

"Of course."

The headmaster pulled out a goblet and held it out. Riddle and Hermione placed their hand on the cup and instantly Riddle felt a tug behind his navel.

* * *

"It was a good thing you did," Dumbledore said and handed Riddle a goblet filled with water. 

Riddle didn't replay at once. Instead he drank the water and looked towards the bed where Hermione was laying in deep sleep. Potter and Weasley were sitting guard by the bed looking worried.

"I owed her," he said.

Dumbledore nodded. "But why did you go back?"

Riddle shrugged. He didn't want to answer that. He didn't want to admit that he hoped Lucius would be among the Death Eaters and that perhaps he would get his chance at revenge.

"Did Potter tell you were we were?" he asked instead.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, he came running back to the castle rambling about you protecting Hermione, and yelling at us to hurry up."

Riddle smiled.

"Well, I need to inform the Ministry," Dumbledore said and left the ward.

Riddle looked after him before turning back to the bed where a now awaken Hermione was talking eagerly to Potter and Weasley. She waved him over when she suddenly spotted him standing by the door, and he reluctant walked over to the bed.

"I suppose we owe you a thank you," Potter said, looking nothing but happy.

Riddle smiled mentally. "Perhaps."

Hermione on the other hand looked thoughtful. "I need to talk to Riddle alone, please?"

"What?" Weasely said. "I'm not leaving you alone with that monster!"

Riddle rolled his eyes.

"He just saved my life, Ron," Hermione said calmly. "I hardly believe he would try and hurt me now."

"Come on, Ron. He isn't going to hurt her," Potter said.

Weasley didn't look any happier at all, but he let Potter drag him out of the room.

As the door closed behind the two Hermione looked up at him.

"Why?" she asked silently.

Riddle groaned. Did he really have to go through this again? "I owed you a life debt, remember? You saved my life."

She smiled and it was like her whole face lightened up. "I just never thought of you as the hero type."

Riddle had to smile. The comment was as far from the truth as possible. "How's your leg?" he asked instead.

She smiled and motioned for him to sit down. "Much better, thank you."

"I'm glad," he said and sat down on the chair Weasley had been sitting in moments earlier.

"So, why do you think they attacked Hogsmed?"

Riddle looked at her surprised. Where they going to have a conversation as well now? But he answered the question.

The talked for almost two hours before Madam Pomfrey threw him out, telling him that Hermione needed her rest, but that he was welcome back the next day.

Riddle nodded and said good night.

The girl had been easy to talk to and she was intelligent. It was easy to have a real conversation with her. They had read many of the same books and it was interesting to discuss different point of views with her. She had been especially interested in Lucius, and what Riddle thought his next move would be.

As he came down the stairs he found himself face to face with Potter.

"Thank you," the boy said, forcing himself to smile.

Riddle titled his head to the side. "I never thought I'd ever hear you thank me for anything," he commented wryly.

Potter smiled and looked down. "Neither did I, but you did save her life. I would never have been able to help her. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw you kneeling on the ground beside her."

Riddle nodded. "I owed her," he said as an explanation.

Potter nodded. "I know. She told me, but I wanted to thank you anyway. Well, good night." With that he walked passed Riddle and up the stairs.

The Slytherin Heir stared after him, not really believing his own eyes. Then he smiled. Perhaps everything wouldn't be so bad after this.

**The End...**

* * *

**A/N: Well, I actually finished it. I'm going to end it here, although I could have written a lot more, but I think it's well as good to just end everything here. **

**Again thank you to all those who have been reading this story. You're reviews and encouragement has been wonderful :)**

**Perhaps I'll hear from you again if I deicded to write another story.**

**--Ace of Black Hearts--**


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